THE GREAT MIDDLESEX TORNADO
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"The Great Middlesex Tornado"

Description: New England folklorist John Horrigan retraces the path of the Great Middlesex Tornado - a whirlwind that began in Worcester and tore through Wayland, Weston, Waltham, Belmont, Arlington, Medford, Malden and Lynn, Massachusetts. He will provide a chronological account of this fateful day of August 22nd, 1851, with the assistance of anecdotal evidence, historical recollections and a rare map belonging to the Waltham Historical Society. John will also present a concise history of New England Tornadoes beginning with John Winthrop's ``Sudden Gust'' of 1643. The Great Middlesex Tornado was a twister that began in central Massachusetts and raced eastward along modern day Route 60. Utilizing levity, John considers this to be one of his greatest lectures as he transforms an obscure whirlwind into high infotainment.





IMAGES



  • The tornado began in eastern Worcester a little after 5 PM and rapidly moved eastward on the 22nd of August, 1851....






  • The funnel became more defined as it crossed Prospect Hill in Waltham.......






  • The cyclonic winds whipped in several directions......






  • It then tore through West Cambridge (modern day Arlington)......






  • A ceramic bust of President Millard Fillmore was lifted off of a pedestal and hurled a quarter of a mile, landing safely and undamaged in a garden.....






  • After grinding through Cambridge, the tornado swept through Medford, where it did the most damage and took a man's life....






  • As the funnel cloud intensified, the winds ripped up orchards, trees and houses....






  • The only known eyewitness rendering of the tornado in Medford appeared in Gleason's Pictorial dated September 13th, 1851.








    THIS LECTURE HAS BEEN PERFORMED FOR:


  • Organization: Medford Public Library
  • Contact: Barbara Kerr
  • Date: September 23rd, 2009
  • Location: Medford, Massachusetts
  • Email: click to email
    LISTEN TO THIS LECTURE right click - Save Target As - to download

    Running Time: 1 hour and 12 minutes Size: 78 MB



  • Organization: Reading Low Vision Group
  • Contact: Helen Coffey
  • Date: July 8th, 2009
  • Location: Reading Senior Center - Reading, Massachusetts
  • Phone: 781-245-3143
    LISTEN TO THIS LECTURE right click - Save Target As - to download

    Running Time: 58 minutes Size: 50 MB



  • Organization: Waltham Historical Society
  • Contact: Wayne McCarthy
  • Date: July 10, 2007
  • Location: RTN Credit Union at Waltham, Massachusetts
  • Email: click to email
    LISTEN TO THIS LECTURE right click - Save Target As - to download

    Running Time: 49 minutes Size: 46 MB



    ADDITIONAL AUDIO RECORDINGS:


    THE GREAT MIDDLESEX TORNADO OF 1851 right click - Save Target As - to download

    Recorded on April 15th, 2008 at Waltham, Massachusetts. John reads about a tornado that raced through Middlesex County (along modern day Route 60) on August 22nd, 1851 (from David Ludlum's Early American Tornadoes). Time: 13:07 Size 12 MB


    THE GREAT MIDDLESEX COUNTY TORNADO OF 1851 right click - Save Target As - to download

    Recorded on April 15th, 2008 at Waltham, Massachusetts. John reads about a tornado that raced through Middlesex County (along modern day Route 60) on August 22nd, 1851 (from Sidney Perley's Historic Storms of New England. Time: 20:35 Size 19 MB


    EYEWITNESS TO THE MARTHA'S VINEYARD WATERSPOUT (1896) right click - Save Target As - to download

    Recorded on June 14th, 2008 at Watertown, Massachusetts. John reads an eyewitness account of the Great Martha's Vineyard Waterspout in August of 1896. 1:46; 2 MB


    IT RAINED SALT WATER (1896) right click - Save Target As - to download

    Recorded on June 14th, 2008 at Watertown, Massachusetts. John reads about the salt water rain that fell on Martha's Vineyard after the Great Martha's Vineyard Waterspout of August 19th, 1896. 1:26; 2 MB


    THE WATERSPOUT ON VINEYARD SOUND (1896) right click - Save Target As - to download

    Recorded on June 14th, 2008 at Watertown, Massachusetts. John reads about the historic photographs taken from Cottage City, Martha's Vineyard of the Great Martha's Vineyard Waterspout of August 19th, 1896. :53; 1 MB


    THE WATERSPOUT OF AUGUST 19th, 1896 right click - Save Target As - to download

    Recorded on June 14th, 2008 at Watertown, Massachusetts. John reads about the historic Martha's Vineyard Waterspouts of August 19th, 1896. Three were seen in succession. Time is 8:59; Size is 10 MB


    THE HURRICANE OF 1782 right click - Save Target As - to download

    Recorded on July 9th, 2008 in Watertown, Massachusetts. John reads from Sidney Perley's Historic Storms of New England about a tornado that swept across western Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire in June of 1782. Running Time is 3:19. Size is 6 MB.


    THE HURRICANE OF LEICESTER (1759) right click - Save Target As - to download

    Recorded on December 10th, 2008 at Watertown, Massachusetts. John reads from Sidney Perley's Historic Storms of New England about a tornado that wiped out Leicester, Massachusetts in 1759. 2 minute and 27 seconds; 3 MB


    THE VIOLENT HURRICANE OF REHOBETH (1671) right click - Save Target As - to download

    Recorded on May 4th, 2008 in Watertown, Massachusetts. John reads from David Ludlum's Early American Tornados about a tornado that rakes a southern Massachusetts community in 1671.


    JOHN WINTHROP'S SUDDEN GUST OF 1643 right click - Save Target As - to download

    Recorded on May 4th, 2008 in Watertown, Massachusetts. John reads from David Ludlum's Early American Tornados about a "sudden gust" recorded by John Winthrop in his diary that moves on a northern line and scours land from Lynn, Massachusetts to Hampton, New Hampshire in 1643.


    WINTHROP'S SUDDEN GUST right click - Save Target As - to download

    Recorded on December 27th, 2006 at Watertown, Massachusetts. John reads from David Ludlum's Early American Tornados about a "severe line squall" recorded by John Winthrop in his diary on July 5th, 1643 (O.S.) that hit Newbury, Massachusetts. 2 minutes and :08 seconds, 2 MB






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