28 JUNE 4, 2020 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
OUR NEIGHBORHOOD: THE WAY IT WAS
The storm that tore Woodhaven apart 125 years ago
Public School 59 on Rockaway Boulevard in Old Woodhaven South (now Ozone Park) in the aftermath of the cyclone that struck with devastation
force 125 years ago, on July 13, 1895. Courtesy of Woodhaven Cultural and Historical Society
PRESENTED BY THE WOODHAVEN
CULTURAL AND HISTORICAL
SOCIETY
EDITORIAL@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
@RIDGEWOODTIMES
It came from the west, through East
New York and Cypress Hills. The
force of the winds uprooted trees
and toppled tombstones in the cemetery
before descending its force upon
Woodhaven. It was just aft er 4 in the
aft ernoon and in the space of just a few
minutes, the storm would cut a path of
destruction with tragic results.
Next month marks the 125th anniversary
of that memorable day. If
you grew up in the area, you may
have heard tales about the terrific
storm that tore Woodhaven apart.
Growing up, you may have heard
about the young woman who died.
And you may have heard about
the thousands and thousands of
people who traveled all the way to
Woodhaven to view the destruction
the storm left behind.
It was July 13, 1895, and Woodhaven
was still renowned for and
shaped by its famed Union Course
track, where races between horses
bred in the North and the South drew
crowds of 70,000 people or more.
The track closed in the 1860s and
the land sat empty for many years.
Much of Woodhaven North (the land
north of Atlantic Avenue) was wide
open in those days as it consisted of
a lot of farmland.
Woodhaven South, on the other
hand, was more densely populated,
with buildings, factories and a large
recently constructed school. It’s also
important to note that much of what
was Woodhaven South back then is
now Ozone Park.
The storm appeared with no warning,
first striking Woodhaven at Jamaica
Avenue and Elderts Lane, near
the home for truants (future home
of Franklin K. Lane High School).
Passengers on the Brooklyn, Queens
County and Suburban Railroad,
which had just been electrified the
year before, huddled inside their derailed
cars as telegraph and trolley
poles came crashing down around
them.
The storm cloud, which was
estimated to cover an area of 300
square yards, moved swiftly south
injuring residents who were being
battered by a massive amount of
debris that was flying through the
air. Once the storm began to hit the
houses in Woodhaven, the debris
that began to fly became decidedly
more dangerous.
Eyewitnesses described the cloud
as massive and dark, and some said it
was shaped like a funnel. Many others
described a soft red glow within
the cloud. They said that trees and
chimneys were ripped from their
foundations and flew through the
air as if they were no heavier than
feathers. Several persons found
themselves lifted off their feet and
carried through the air, landing a
block or two away.
Newspaper accounts at the time
described one woman who was in
an outhouse at the time the storm
struck. The outhouse was ripped
from the ground and hurled a full
block away. The poor woman was
carried away with the outhouse,
and was flung away from it before it
crashed to the ground. That she suffered
only a cut on her forehead was
rightfully described as a miracle.
The worst scene of destruction
was at the newly built two-story
brick schoolhouse at University
Place (95th Avenue) and Rockaway
Road (today, a boulevard). P.S. 59
had been built in 1890 on land purchased
from manufacturer Florian
Grosjean, whose legendary factory
and clocktower still stands on the
border of Woodhaven and Ozone
Park.
The roof of the schoolhouse was
ripped off and the upper-half of
the building collapsed. “I could see
flying bricks and debris of all kinds,
and then the whole landscape was
obscured by clouds of dust,” said one
eyewitness. “Great beams and roofs
blew about for the space of fully half
a minute.”
Only that this storm struck on a
Summer Saturday afternoon prevented
this from being a far more
tragic tale. But Woodhaven was not
spared tragedy on that day 125 years
ago.
* * *
If you have any remembrances or
old photographs of “Our Neighborhood:
The Way It Was” that you would
like to share with our readers, please
write to the Old Timer, c/o Ridgewood
Times, 38-15 Bell Blvd., Bayside, NY
11361, or send an email to editorial@
ridgewoodtimes.com. Any print photographs
mailed to us will be carefully
returned to you upon request.
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