A destructive tornado, with heavy rain and hail, struck the western part of the town of Alton, Illinois in the early evening. In twenty minutes, hundreds of buildings were damaged, the Episcopal and Methodist churches lost their steeples, and the new offices of the Alton Democrat were demolished. Damage was estimated at at least $200,000 but only slight injuries were reported. Worse was to follow the next day in Iowa as storm cells continued to develop in the MidWest. (By John Osborne)
Source Citation
Francis Vincent, Vincent's Semi-Annual United States Register.... 1st of January and 1st of July, 1860 (Philadelphia: Francis Vincent, 1860), 486.