Tag Archives: Easter Tornado 1913

It’s time for another #ThrowbackThursday from the Nebraska Memories archive!

110 years ago, a devastating tornado hit Omaha, Nebraska. This week’s image shows the aftermath of that storm and the damage left behind at the Academy of the Sacred heart.

Few disasters have devastated Omaha as completely as the Easter Tornado of March 23, 1913. The storm descended just after Easter services on Sunday evening. The tornado created a path that ran seven miles long and a quarter mile wide. It killed 140 citizens of Omaha and injured 400 others. The Easter Tornado caused such extensive damage to the north side of the Academy, that plans were made to level it. Concerned citizens stepped forward and the building was repaired rather than razed.

In 1915, the school added college courses and renamed itself Duchesne College and Convent of the Sacred Heart. The college closed in 1968, and the elementary school was phased out, but the secondary school remains.

This week’s image is owned and published by Omaha Public Library. The items in this collection feature early Omaha-related maps dating from 1825 to 1922, as well as over 1,100 postcards and photographs of the Omaha area.

Are you someone who likes history? If so, check out the Nebraska Memories archive! It’s a cooperative project to digitize Nebraska-related historical and cultural materials and make them available to researchers of all ages.

The Nebraska Memories archive is brought to you by the Nebraska Library Commission. If your institution is interested in participating in Nebraska Memories, see http://nlc.nebraska.gov/nebraskamemories/participation.aspx for more information.