The state of Iowa isn’t widely considered a dangerous place. We’ve always enjoyed low crime rate and the absence of large-scale natural disasters, here. There was one time, many years ago, when Mother Nature decided to go nuts on the tiny town of Camanche.

When George K. Peck of New York first laid eyes on the high bank of the town we now know as Camanche in the 1830s, he must have been able to see into the future.
Library of Congress Printed Ephemera Collection; Portfolio 134, Folder 13/Wikimedia
Dr. Peck spelled the Native American tribe after which he named his settlement wrong, but that was his only mistake. He platted 20 ranges; 20 blocks each with 8 lots in each block to create a 3,200-block future town.
He went to the city of Chicago on foot intending to sell his lots to settlers headed west.
University of Iowa Atlases
Dr. Peck gave free land to business owners who were willing to set up shop in the new Iowa town.
By 1857, Camanche had 15 stores, three churches, two schools, four hotels, a bank, and two saw mills.
Camanche Iowa Community Website
Camanche Iowa Community Website
The first railroad through Camanche truly made the town a success, that year.
Sunday, June 3, 1860 was a hot day. The humidity was oppressive.
1838 School House, Camanche Community School District History Website
It quickly became obvious that a thunderstorm was building, which would provide welcome relief from the mid-afternoon heat.
A storm moved across eastern Iowa, and it quickly became dangerous.
Illustration by Benjamin F. Gue in History of Iowa From the Earliest Times to the Beginning of the Twentieth Century/Wikimedia
It gained speed and strength as it swept over farms, damaging homes and buildings. Hail larger than two inches in diameter and rotating updrafts created chaos and unbearable noise.
20 rural Clinton County residents died as a result of the storm. At 6:30pm, it approached Camanche. By then it was a full-on tornado that ripped apart the town.
Cedar Falls Gazette, June 8, 1860
Cedar Falls Gazette, June 8, 1860
There were few buildings left standing. All were badly damaged. The storm moved at 50mph. The lack of an organized way to report weather events left people on the Mississippi vulnerable.
A raft carrying 26 men was hit outside Camanche. Only three survived.
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Camanche,+IA/@41.7907952,-90.3509789,23254m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x87e25cd5a0559ec1:0x293f497c39bd5ac8!8m2!3d41.7853085!4d-90.2529064
University of Iowa Atlases
The storm claimed a total of 140 lives in just a few hours. Over 300 people were injured. The property damage was devastating. The 1860 tornado remains the worst and most fatal storm the area has seen, even after all of these years.

Did you know about the great Iowa tornado of 1860?

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