The Jackson Times - April 15, 1948 CAMPTON HARD HIT BY TORNADO WHICH STRUCK WOLFE COUNTY MONDAY MORNING By Berta K. Cecil, Editor Wolfe County news Camptonians were rudely awakened from their sleep Monday morning by a cyclone which struck Campton about five o'clock before many people were out of bed. The County Jail was badly damaged when the smoke stacks and chimney and roof were blown off, leaving all the prisoners' rooms without a covering on one side of the building. Cal Watson's home was demolished when the house was picked up and moved off its foundation, at the same time the porch and roof were shaved off as clean as if they had been sawed off. Cal wasn't out of bed when it happened but he said he surely was in a hurry to get his clothes on when that cyclone struck. It was reckoned that Cal didn't want to get blown away without his clothes. It seemed as if the twister had a spite on Cal for it went on about 2 miles in the county to his farm and took the roof off his house there, blew the roof off his house there, blew the roof off his house there, blew the roof off his barn. The whole hillside back of Watson's home in Campton and the back of Earl Pelfrey's home was covered with uprooted apple trees in full bloom. Someone said there were about twenty five, I did not count them. Clifford Lacey lost another 25 apple trees in full bloom and his chicken house and smoke houses were turned upside down. Wiley Hollon's barn was full of hay when the storm struck, afterwards there was a 6 ft. swath taken from the middle of the barn and Wiley declares that he has not been able to find a single straw of his hay yet. Though it may be over in Ed Bach's hollow. That is where all the roofs seemed to land. Several window panes were blown out of the court house and the roof partially blown off the old age pension office. Shortly Cable said he was awfully glad he wasn't in it. Part of the roof was blown off the home of Corbett Pelfrey's. The big barn belonging to George Hatton at a construction cost of $1,500 was completely wrecked, though still standing. It will have to be torn down and rebuilt before it is of any further use. All the roof was blown off it and the sides squashed in. Henry Tibbs lost the roof and chimney to his home. Save for a lot of uprooted trees on lawns and in orchards that was about all the damage Campton sustained. But on Stillwater, Lillie Burton lost a big barn, Maude Brewer's home was damaged, Frank Tutt's home lost part of the roof, Lennie Harris's home lost part of the roof and a wide plate glass window was blown out of Elkins and Rose Store. On Gilmore, the old Farlan Gibbs place was almost destroyed when the smoke house was blown through the house. In the time of it all Bernie Rose, who was living there with his family, were blown across the room and got a black eye where his head connected with a bed post or something. Bernie isn't sure what for about the same time he was blown across the room the roof was removed from the house and also the front porch. Roland Lindon's barn on Gilmore was blown down. A log struck and killed a cow and also a hog for him. Aaron Campbell of Trent lost the most of his barn during the storm. Hazel Green got only the hard wind and rain but we heard the tornado as it passed over us to strike again at Mize, where it demolished several barns and blew the porch off of Oldfield's store clean as a whistle. We are all thankful to be alive. Submitted by: http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00001.html#0000062 Wolfe County Genealogy and Carole Bays ******************************************************************** These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by any other organization or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter