“On Wednesday morning a heavy wind accompanied by rain, visited Marion and the surrounding country, carrying before it fences, trees and houses, and otherwise doing great damage to the wheat and growing crops.
It is impossible to tell anything near the amount of damage done.
In the country, a great amount of fencing was blown down, many forest trees torn up by the roots and the growing wheat lay on the ground.
In town, the engine house of the Carbondale and Shawneetown Railroad was blown down making a total wreck of the concern. The walls of the new Christian Church, which were just completed, were swept before the wind damaging the building to the amount of $1,000.
Some of the walls of the old court house left, standing after the fire, were blown down, but there is not much loss sustained by their fall. A great many shade and fruit trees were destroyed and shrubbery torn up generally.
One of the chimneys of Samuel Dunaway’s fine residence on West Main Street was blown off and a portion of the roof of Samuel Vick’s residence on the same street was torn off.
From yesterday’s papers we learn that the same storm which visited us, reached as far northwest as Northern Missouri. It seems to have swept over St. Louis doing considerable damage there. It passed down over Belleville, DuQuoin and other places on that line leaving destruction in its path.
Column after column of yesterday’s papers was devoted to the reports of the storm in Kansas, Missouri and Illinois. The destruction was fearful and the storm king left desolation wherever he passed.
Fortunately for us it seems to have spent its wrath before it reached Marion and the damage done here was small compared with other places northwest of us.”
Sam’s Notes: The court house that used to sit in the southeast corner of the public square had just been completely destroyed by fire previous to this.
(Extracted from Egyptian Press article dated June 18, 1875)