Source: Ashland Gazette, August 7, 1896

HAIL STORM

Ashland was visited by the worst hail storm ever known in the history of this country on last Friday afternoon. We clip the following from the Ashland correspondent to the Lincoln Journal which explains probably better than we could.

"The biggest liars do not pretend that they ever saw anything to compare with the great quantity of enormous stones that fell. It was not a hailstorm; it was an ice storm. Fortunately the territory visited was comparatively small, covering two miles east, north and west and one south of town.

The phenomenon of the storm was peculiar. At 2 o'clock a gray cloud lay just northwest of town, reaching down to the horizon, but there seemed to be no rain. Ragged clouds were rushing rapidly towards it from all directions. At half past two the front of the cloud was just north of town, and a great roaring began like the roll of thunder. It grew louder, sounding like an enormous swarm of bees or a train running over the bridge. At first it was thought to be thunder, but it was seen there was no lightning and the roar was continuous. People looked at it with fear and wonder. It was the tornado roar, but was up in the clouds. The roar continued for twenty-five minutes, when suddenly it became a rain cloud and in an instant was upon the town.

It hailed for a half hour with a moderate wind. When it was over every house and store in town had lost their north windows, most of the tin roofs were full of holes and some shingle roofs were in splinters. The ground was about half covered with ice balls the size of snow balls, with some that measured up to thirteen inches in circumference. The lawns were pitted full of deep holes, with mud and grass splashed to the top of second store windows. Nearly all pigs were killed, one farmer loosing forty. Nearly all the poultry is dead. The orchards were stripped bare. Telephone and electric light wires are still down. It was not an electrical storm, as the first flash of lightning came after the hail had ceased. The roar of the storm, however, was heard for miles."

The damage was great, many farmers losing their entire crops of corn and fruit. Among the heaviest losers in the county are Martin Ballou, who lost 40 head of pigs, 300 acres of corn and 30 window panes broken out of his house. Sol Reigal lost all his corn and fruit as did Mrs. McCloud, and Mr. Stanley lost all his corn. In fact all the farmers living in the line of the storm last all their corn and fruit besides pigs, chickens and garden truck. In town the tin roofs were battered full of holes while the shingle roofs that were a few years old were battered into kindling wood. The slate roof of Mr. E. A. Wiggenhorn's fine residence was badly damage. The Opera House block lost all the window lights on the north end besides two large plate glass on first floor and some on the west side. The Selma Hotel lost about twelve large glass windows and one large plate glass. The Commercial Hotel lost about forty-five panes of glass and the tin roof was left in bad shape. The News office lost nineteen panes of glass and the tin roof was filled full of holes like a sieve so to speak. Edoff's skylight was smashed to smithereens and several inches of water covered the floor. All the fronts of the buildings on the south side of Silver street were smashed in. Snell lost several glass. Gould & Co. lost a large plate glass. Bell & Sheffer, Scott, Gilson, Knicely all lost their glass fronts. The different churches of the town lost a number of lights. Odd Fellows hall was a wreck. George Radeker had 60 chickens killed. There were many amusing things that happened. The damage is great and will probably reach one hundred thousand dollars.