A powerful gale tore through Baltimore and the Chesapeake Bay in April 1916, leaving behind a trail of wreckage on land and water. Newspapers reported that the wind reached 40 miles an hour, strong enough to topple industrial structures, tear vessels from their moorings, and send small boats capsizing in the bay.
Among the most startling incidents was the tragic accident involving two young sisters, Sophie and Lillian Dover, who were roller-skating on Cross Street when the wind reportedly blew them into an automobile. Ten-year-old Sophie suffered a broken neck, while her younger sister was badly injured.
The storm also damaged the Baltimore Drydock Company, where a 110-foot steel smokestack crashed through the roof of a building and injured workers. Along the waterfront, the steamer Ella Wood broke loose and struck the Pennsylvania Railroad piers, causing thousands of dollars in damage.
This brief 1916 report captures the sudden danger of severe weather in an era when crowded city streets, working waterfronts, and industrial buildings were all vulnerable to a fierce spring windstorm.
Gale Blows Girls Into Automobile
BALTIMORE — A 40-mile-an-hour gale sweeping over Baltimore and Chesapeake Bay yesterday did heavy damage.
Sophie Dover, aged 10, and her younger sister, Lillian, while roller-skating on Cross Street, were blown into an automobile. Sophie’s neck was broken and her sister was badly hurt. Several other persons were injured.
A steel 110-foot smokestack of the Baltimore Drydock Company, was blown down, breaking through the roof of a building and injuring William de Cou and several other persons.
The steamer Ella Wood broke adrift and smashed into the Pennsylvania Railroad piers, causing damage of $15,000. Other vessels were blown from their moorings and several small bay boats were capsized.
Source: East Oregonian : E.O. Pendleton, OR. April 15, 1916.
