WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES JULY 4, 2019 27
OUR NEIGHBORHOOD: THE WAY IT WAS
Remembering anniversary of a brutal
1895 storm that wrecked Woodhaven
PRESENTED BY THE WOODHAVEN
CULTURAL AND HISTORICAL SOCIETY
PROJECTWOODHAVEN@GMAIL.COM
Next year will mark the 125th
anniversary of the infamous
storm that struck Woodhaven.
It was on July 13, 1895, that the storm
swept in from the south, leaving a
trail of carnage in its wake, including
three people dead over 100 miles away
in Cherry Hill, New Jersey.
The storm cloud, which was
estimated to cover an area of 300
square yards, fi rst struck Woodhaven
at Jamaica Avenue and Elderts Lane,
having swept through Cypress Hills
Cemetery, where it toppled monuments
and ripped out trees and headstones.
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 fl ew through the air
as if they were no heavier than feathers.
Several people found themselves lift ed
off their feet and carried through the
air, landing a block or two away.
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. Only the fact that
this storm struck on a Saturday in July
prevented this from being a far more
tragic tale. No one was injured inside
the collapsed school building. Outside,
however, was a diff erent story.
One block east of the school, at Third
Avenue (present-day 84th Street) and
Rockaway Boulevard, 16-year-old
newlywed Louise Petroquien was at
her sewing machine when she heard
the commotion outside. Looking out
the window, she saw the massive dark
cloud overhead and ran outside to
warn her mother.
She emerged from a side doorway
but before she could shout out a
warning, a large beam torn from the
roof of P.S. 59 slammed into her head
and neck, killing her instantly. It was
her mother, returning aft er the storm
had passed, who found her daughter’s
body next to the steps leading to
their home.
The storm moved south and out
toward Jamaica Bay, leaving an eerie
silence amidst the massive amount
of destruction in its wake. Although
there were close to 150 homes damaged,
accounts vary on how many homes
were completely destroyed, and the
number is probably somewhere
between 15 and 30.
In the days following the storm, over
100,000 people came to Woodhaven via
the Long Island Rail Road on Atlantic
Avenue to view the damage. While
locals bustled about, clearing away
debris, visitors dropped coins and bills
into barrels set up for the close to 300
people who lost everything, or nearly
everything, to the storm.
The main attraction for the visitors,
however, seemed to be the home of
Ms. Petroquien. The family permitted
visitors to enter her home, through
the door which she had rushed out
of, stepping over the spot where she
lost her life. They were led into the
parlor where they could view and pay
respects to the young bride, who was
lying in a rosewood coffi n under a
large pile of fl owers.
For the next century, stories looking
back on the storm of 1895 have referred
to Louise Petroquien as the sole fatality
from Woodhaven. However, one
small victim of that storm has been
consistently forgotten over the past
century: 5-year-old Johnny Kolb.
The boy had been playing on Atlantic
and Rockaway when the storm hit and
aft erwards he was discovered lying
under the rubble. The boy had broken
both an arm and a leg and passed away
the next day. Both Louise Petroquien
and Johnny Kolb were buried in
Cypress Hills Cemetery.
Today, the intersection of 83rd
Street and Rockaway Boulevard
is now part of Ozone Park. There
is nothing to indicate that this
was once the scene of a powerful
and destructive storm. An office
building (opened just one year
after the storm) stands in the same
footprint where the school once
sat; for many years, this building
was well known as a Friendly Frost
appliance store.
What happened there nearly
125 years ago serves as a reminder
that we are forever at the mercy of
nature and its tendency to humble us
without warning.
Photos courtesy of the Woodhaven Cultural and Historical Society
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