Brinkley Tornado of 1909

Thirty-five people were killed and most of the town of Brinkley (Monroe County) was destroyed by a March 8, 1909, tornado, one of a series that caused a total of fifty-eight fatalities along with damage in at least nine Arkansas counties.

The tornado roared into Brinkley at 7:07 p.m. on March 8, 1909, and it was reported that wind that sounded like an explosion of dynamite scraped through the town, “as with a billion hands wrenched, tore and struck down, with hideous wails and terrible crunches.” It destroyed and damaged residential and commercial buildings, with the Brauda Dry Goods Company being the sole store in town that was untouched. St. John the Baptist Catholic Church was the only Brinkley church to survive the storm.

After the tornado passed, survivors began searching the rubble for people trapped in the wreckage. A visiting salesman observed that “no one could have gone more heroically to the work of rescue than did the people of Brinkley; white and black, rich and poor, were working side by side, doing all in their power to relieve the suffering of the injured and rescue those who were pinioned under the demolished buildings.” Fires broke out, but a heavy rain fell, preventing them from spreading.

Thirty-five people were killed or died from their wounds in Brinkley, while around 250 others suffered injuries. Damage was estimated at $2 million in the town. Governor George Donaghey called on people around the state to send assistance to Brinkley, and donations of money and supplies soon poured into the town, aided by the railroads that offered to deliver materials for free. Donaghey sent two trainloads of prisoners to assist in the cleanup.

Tornadoes also tore into other Arkansas towns on March 8, 1909, with fatalities reported at Zion, Piney Woods, and England in Lonoke County, as well as near Benton (Saline County), Fourche Dam (Pulaski County), Sheridan (Grant County), and Ferda (Jefferson County). Storm damage was also reported in Ouachita, Hot Spring, and Prairie counties.

For additional information:
“13 Dead, 46 Injured in State, Exclusive of Loss at Brinkley.” Arkansas Gazette, March 10, 1909, p. 1.

“Boy Killed at Piney Woods.” Arkansas Gazette, March 10, 1909, p. 14.

“Brinkley, Ark., Destroyed by Wind and Fire; 8 Reported Dead.” Arkansas Gazette, March 9, 1909, p. 1.

Hanley, Ray. “Death Wind on the Grand Prairie of Arkansas.” Arkansas Historical Quarterly 54 (Summer 1995): 163–184.

“Three Are Killed at Zion.” Arkansas Gazette, March 10, 1909, p. 14.

Mark K. Christ
Central Arkansas Library System