Fri 6/28 @ noon-1PM
On June 28, 1924, the skies darkened quickly over Sandusky and Lorain, Ohio as a tornado formed over the typically bucolic Sandusky Bay. Today’s Edison Bridge opened in 1965, replacing a lift bridge from 1929, so no bridge was destroyed. And only a handful of people were killed in Sandusky, along with multiple homes destroyed.
But when it swept east over Lake Erie into Lorain it did massive damage; to this day it’s the deadliest tornado to ever make landfall in Ohio. A total of 85 people died; the property damage was massive. The New York Times initially reported 300 dead in Lorain and up to 75 in Sandusky and added, “Reports from various other sources place the number of the dead as high as 500.” A hundred years later, we’d call that “clickbait.”
On June 28 @ noon, the Lorain Historical Society’s Official Commemoration Event for its Tornado Centennial takes place on the Sunset Terrace at Lakeview Park. The Remembrance Ceremony will honor the tornado’s victims and survivors, with family members present. “The Lakeview Park Bath House location was selected for this event because of its tragic history where the tornado first made landfall in Lorain,” they tell us. Then at 1pm, meet at the fountain at Lakeview Park where Lorain County Metro Parks staff members will share the park’s history including the tornado and more. Both events are free and open to the public, no registration required.
For more events around the Tornado Centennial going on all weekend, go to the Lorain Historical Society’s website.
lorainhistory.org/tornado-commemoration
Lorain, OH 44052