Violent Skies: 1890

Venango Museum Staff
Aug 26, 2025
3 min read

A large black tornado swirls above oil rigs in a blue and beige setting, creating a sense of chaos and destruction. — *Illustration by Venango Museum Staff.*

The Tornado of 1890

Venango County’s 1890 tornado stands as one of the most severe weather events in local history. Drawing on eyewitness accounts and newspaper reports, this post explores the storm’s impact on homes, families, and industry across the region.

This article draws on 19th-century newspaper accounts, county histories, and modern meteorological resources to document extreme weather in Venango County.

Most people think of states like Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas when they hear about tornadoes in the United States. But Pennsylvania actually sees about 15 or 16 tornadoes each year. Since tornadoes here are less common and usually less severe than those in Tornado Alley, they often go unnoticed or are underestimated.

Many people in Western Pennsylvania have long believed that tornadoes can't happen here because of the hills and mountains. This isn't true. Whether a tornado forms depends on the weather—things like wind patterns, instability, and moisture—not the shape of the land. While terrain can affect how storms behave near the ground, it doesn't prevent tornadoes from forming.

One of the worst tornadoes in local history hit Venango County on May 12, 1890. Back then, people called it a “cyclone,” which was a common term for violent storms in the 1800s. Today, we know it was a tornado. Reports from that time mention heavy rain, bright lightning, and a fast-spinning funnel that tore through parts of Mercer, Venango, and Butler counties.

People who saw the tornado said it moved very quickly and with great force. It picked up buildings and scattered debris across the area. In one well-known case, William Kilgore’s house was lifted off its foundation, carried about fifty feet, and lost its roof. Mrs. Kilgore was walking into the house when the storm hit and was blown through the building and out the other side. Amazingly, she survived, and the rest of the family was not seriously hurt.

The tornado caused a tragic loss of life in Victory Township. At Noah and Mrs. Jackson’s farm, the couple was milking cows in their barn when the storm struck. According to Franklin’s Evening News, the barn was “torn to atoms,” and both Mr. and Mrs. Jackson died instantly. They left behind six children, the youngest just over a year old, and the oldest twelve.

The storm moved on through rural Venango County and hit John Wareham’s home. Wareham, who was sick in bed with malaria, and his son were both lifted by the tornado and carried almost eighty feet before landing in a garden. Another person in the house, Ella Graham, was thrown out and ended up stuck in a pine tree. Even though the event was severe, everyone in the house survived with only minor injuries.

Newspapers in the area called the storm the most frightening disaster people had ever seen. The Oil City Derrick described widespread damage, with telegraph lines down, homes destroyed, and barns turned to splinters. Factories and other industrial sites were also hit hard. Gas lines, oil pipelines, storage tanks, and derricks were destroyed, and the big pump station in Rockland was said to have been washed away.

Flooding made things even worse. Sandy Creek rose almost twelve feet in a short time, washing out bridges and roads. Train service stopped after a seventeen-car pileup on the Allegheny Valley Railroad. With bridges gone and roads blocked, much of Venango County was cut off for a while after the storm.

The 1890 tornado is still remembered as one of the worst weather events in Venango County’s history. It shows that even places outside Tornado Alley can face extreme weather.