Tornado Outbreak of June 1, 1947

A tornado that began at the Union community in Jefferson County on June 1, 1947, killed thirty-four people and caused extensive damage before dissipating in Lincoln County.

The tornado hit Union, located south of Pine Bluff (Jefferson County), at about 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, June 1, 1947, and followed a twenty-mile course, being “10 miles wide in places.” A newspaper reported that “the Union, Ladd, Fairfield, Watson’s Chapel and several unnamed communities felt the storm.”

The twister struck a club for Black teenagers on the Warren highway near Pine Bluff and killed eleven youths. A report stated that “the building was splintered, and the bodies were strewn over a 50-yard radius.” All four members of the James West family were killed when it hit their home on Bayou Bartholomew. E.V. Tidwell and his wife and five children fled their house, apparently seeking shelter in a neighbor’s home. The tornado missed their house, but all seven members of the family were killed.

Pine Bluff mayor George Steed said that “whole families—Negro and white—were wiped out….All buildings were leveled, and the only evidence some had ever stood were the foundations.” Approximately 300 people were injured by the tornado, including seventy-one who were hospitalized. The tornado finally dissipated near Star City (Lincoln County). Another storm caused damage in Masonville (Desha County) and McGehee (Desha County) but no casualties.

Rescue crews searched the wrecked buildings for survivors. One group blew a hole in a dike on Bayou Bartholomew and “then waded waist deep in the muddy waters hunting for bodies.” William Galloway, an Arkansas Power and Light Company lineman, was killed when a snapped wire penetrated his skull.

Thirty-four people were killed in the tornado outbreak. Fifty houses were destroyed, and 500 others suffered varying degrees of damage, leaving around 500 people homeless. Another 500 farm structures and other buildings were destroyed by the twister. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette stated, in 2012, that “by today’s standards, the financial toll easily topped upward of $10 million.”

For additional information:
“33 Die in Tornado.” Northwest Arkansas Times, June 2, 1947, p. 1.

Barnard, Ninfa O. “Pine Bluff Shone after F4 Tornado of ’47.” Pine Bluff Commercial, June 3, 2024, pp. 1, 3. Online at https://www.pbcommercial.com/news/2024/jun/03/pine-bluff-shone-after-f4-tornado-of-47/ (accessed October 31, 2024).

“Death Toll in Sunday Storm Placed at 34.” Arkansas Gazette, June 3, 1947, pp. 1, 2.

“Injured Negro Died Tuesday.” Camden News, June 3, 1947, p. 1.

“Storm Causes Damage at McGehee.” Arkansas Gazette, June 3, 1947, p. 2.

“Tents Erected for Homeless in Storm Area.” Arkansas Gazette, June 4, 1947, p. 1.

“Tornado Strikes Southeast of Pine Bluff; 37 Reported Killed More Than 300 Injured.” Arkansas Gazette, June 2, 1947, pp. 1, 14.

“Union Tornado Cuts Trail of Terror, Death, History Shows.” Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, May 28, 2012. https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2012/may/28/union-tornado-cuts-trail-of-terror-death-history/ (accessed October 31, 2024).

Wirges, Joe. “Tornado Unusual in Width of Path.” Arkansas Gazette, June 3, 1947, pp. 1, 2.

Mark K. Christ
Central Arkansas Library System