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During
the Civil War the Masonic Lodge organized the Henderson Masonic
Female Institute at Henderson.
The school held its classes in the old Methodist Church building
about fifty yards east of a newer building that housed the Masonic
Lodge and the Henderson Masonic Institute (for males).
Shortly after
noon on December 5, 1866, a tornado formed about four miles southwest
of Henderson
and roared toward the town. Several buildings on the outskirts of
town were destroyed. The storm toppled gravestones at the old city
cemetery and demolished businesses and homes along its two hundred-yard
wide path through Henderson.
On the second floor of the male school building the Masons had adjourned
from a meeting only twenty minutes before the tornado demolished
the structure. Four students on the first floor died when the building
collapsed around them. Loss of life might have been greater, but
most of the boys were outside enjoying their lunch break when the
storm struck. The old church building that housed the female academy
was moved several inches off its foundation, but no young women
were killed. Two died in a home about fifty yards west of the institute.
© Marlene
Bradford
February
1, 2015 guest column
[
Texas Tornadoes: The Lone Star State’s
Deadliest Twisters ]
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