Tornado Strikes Worcester County in 1953

The devastation caused by the tornadoes that touched down in Springfield, Monson, and other Massachusetts towns on Wednesday (June 1st) is sobering. The damage is substantial--several fatalities, many injuries, buildings and property utterly destroyed, and widespread power outages.

The staff of the Massachusetts Historical Society offers our condolences to those who have suffered losses and hope recovery efforts proceed smoothly for all in the affected communities.

Thankfully, tornadoes are relatively rare in New England but the events of this week are not entirely unprecedented. The tornado that touched down in Worcester County, Massachusetts on 9 June 1953 killed 94 people, injured more than 1,000, and damaged 4,000 buildings. The Massachusetts Historical Society holds an album containing 72 photographs of the Worcester tornado taken by Alfred K. Schroeder. The images depict damage to cars, houses, and other town buildings. Several of these photographs were used in a segment that aired on a local television station in 2003 about the 50th commemoration of the tornado and are available for viewing on the MHS website:

Damage to Assumption College from Worcester tornado

Girl in Kitchen of house damaged by Worcester tornado 

Car in tree after Worcester tornado

Damage to neighborhood from Worcester tornado

Damage and house on road from Worcester tornado