Sherman, Texas Tornado (May 15th, 1896)

On May 15th, 1896, an F5 tornado traveled from northeastern Denton County through the west side of Sherman.  This supercell killed 73 people and injured over 200 others.  Most of the deaths occurred in the town of Sherman, which is located in Grayson County; 60 people lost their lives in Sherman while 12 people died in the community of Howe.  Bodies and victims were taken to the Grayson County Courthouse, while others were taken to vacant buildings in downtown Sherman.

Close to 50 homes were destroyed in Sherman.  The Houston Street Bridge, constructed of iron, was demolished by the tornado too.  This is where most of the deaths occurred.
(Photo of the Houston Street Bridge, courtesy www.yesteryearsnews.wordpress.com/2009/02/10/shermans-black-friday-texas-tornado-1896)

The tornado tracked for 28 miles to the northeast and at its largest was near 400 yards wide.  This deadly tornado was part of a larger outbreak of tornadoes that affected much of the central and southern United States.

The May 1896 tornado outbreak produced a series of violent and deadly tornadoes.  This series of tornadoes occurred from May 15th through May 27th.  As many as three F5 tornadoes were recorded in what was one of the worst tornado outbreak sequences on record.

484 people lost their lives during this tornado sequence outbreak.  Texas (Sherman Tornado), Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Illinois, Missouri, Iowa, Kentucky, and Michigan were all impacted by these deadly tornadoes. 

Information courtesy:
www.srh.noaa.gov/fwd
www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_1896_tornado_outbreak_sequence