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Monday, March 3, 2008

The Hurricane of 1856 strikes Jackson County

While conducting some research on Jackson County a few years ago, I came across the following article from the Marianna Patriot of November 2, 1856. Since it is one of the better historical accounts of a hurricane passing through Jackson County, I thought it might be of interest:

We were visited on Saturday and Sunday last with a repetition of the storm of August 23d, 1850. Trees, outhouses and fences were swept down and our beautiful town made almost a complete wreck. Majestic oaks and strongly implanted mulberry trees - which had, for years, stood as ornaments to our village, and which had braved all former gales, were either rent assuner or uplifted by the roots. - Two of the chimneys of the Corut House, and others about town, some of them newly built, were blown down; but we are glad to say none of our dwelling houses were materially injured, and fortunately no lives lost. The surrounding country, we are afraid, suffered severely. We have heard that Gen. Milton, Messrs. Wynn, Battle, and James L. Robinson, had their Gin Houses blown down, and Mr. F.R. Ely lost his Sugar house and a number of other houses, and had two yoke of oxen killed. Dr. R.A. Sanders had two mules killed. The roads are impassable, from the quantity of logs across them.

We understand that the new Methodist Church at Greenwood was blown down during the gale, and that the Chipola river has risen very rapidly since, from the immense quantity of water fallen.

The crops are completely ruined in this county. - Cotton and Corn have been blown down and beaten in the ground. One gentleman had only one boll of open Cotton left standing on his plantation, and another had one third of his corn buried in the sand.

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