Tri-State Tornado Photos

When the tornado struck Annapolis at 1;15 pm, the townspeople didn’t see it.  Instead, witnesses to the event described seeing a smokey fog that came rolling over the hills or describing it like a curtain coming down over the sun. In its wake, 90 percent of the town was damaged or destroyed. Depending on the source used, either three or four people were killed at Annapolis, with at least one of those deaths occurring at the American Lead Mine in nearby Leadanna.  Another 25 people were injured.
 
Photos from Annapolis, Missouri
 
Picture postcard of the tornado's damage in Annapolis.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Picture postcard of the tornado's damage in Annapolis.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Annapolis in the aftermath of the storm. In the foreground is one of the many Red Cross tents that would appear in communities across the tornado's path of destruction.  While 90% of the town of Annapolis was either damaged or destroyed, one of the buildings to remain relatively untouched was the Annapolis School which appears at the top of the hill in the rear of the photo.  Unlike so many other communities impacted by the tornado, no school children were killed or hurt in Annapolis.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Photos from nearby Leadanna, Missouri
 
There was little time between when the tornado struck Annapolis and when it arrived at Leadanna.  Osro Kelley, his wife and children had just returned from shopping in Annapolis.  Seeing the storm approaching, Osro’s wife took their children inside their home while Osro stayed on the front porch looking at the approaching storm.  That decision cost Osro his wife.  Osro’s wife was seriously injured, but she survived.
In the wake of the tornado’s passing, 90% of the above ground mine property was destroyed or damaged, including the mines hoisting equipment.  Seventy-five miners were trapped 465 feet underground and had to use emergency ladders installed in an air vent to climb to the surface.  When the miners got to the surface, they found that 21 of the 54 miners’ homes at Leadanna had been destroyed.