A tornado that ripped through Murphysboro on March 18, 1925, left devastation in its wake.

Newspaper Coverage of the Tri-State
Tornado Ravage of Murphysboro

Zach Ishman
Giant City Elementary School, Giant City

The tri-state tornado that swept through Missouri, Illinois, and parts of Indiana on March 18, 1925, was a significant natural disaster in the United States. Actually a series of tornadoes, these were the worst natural disaster to ever strike Illinois. When they passed through Jackson County, Murphysboro was the hardest hit town in southern Illinois and in complete ruins. This article will explain how two southern Illinois newspapers and a national newspaper covered the effect of the tornado on Murphysboro.

Obviously there was no coverage by a Murphysboro newspaper since the town was in ruins, but the Herrin newspaper provided a lot of interesting information. The Herrin Herald was published semi-weekly or every three to four days in Herrin, which is located about fifteen miles east of Murpysboro. On March 20, 1925, the first edition of the newspaper published after the tornado, the Herrin Herald dedicated almost the entire front page to articles related to the tornado. On that day it included a chart showing the number of recorded deaths and injuries. Murphysboro had 250 dead and 500 injured. The Herrin Herald included many descriptions and details of the devastation. It also reported that some of the property damage in Murphysboro was caused by fires that started soon after the tornadoes struck. The following issue on March 24, 1925, showed numerous photos and articles detailing the tornado devastation. It discussed the destruction of the schools in Murphysboro resulting in the death of school children. Coverage of the tornado continued until April 3, 1925, with news of deaths and money raised.

The Duquoin Tribune was a weekly; it was published once every week in Du Quoin, situated almost twenty miles north of Murphysboro. On March 20, 1925, the first edition of the newspaper published after the tornado, the Duquoin Tribune reported only that there was a tornado but it had no information on it. The next edition on March 27, 1925, the Duquoin paper had an article that included a few death notices. The Duquoin Tribune did not discuss Murphysboro much, and mostly covered how the tornado affected DeSoto. Coverage continued until May 8, 1925, with articles updating relief funds progress and listing how much money came in from other places.

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In this photo, a woman holds her child at the doorway of her destroyed home.

The Chicago Tribune was the biggest paper of the three discussed in this article and was published daily. On March 19, 1925, the first edition of the newspaper published after the tornado, the Tribune had quite a bit of information. It had a chart listing the number of deaths and injuries. The newspaper also had information about the fires in Murphysboro after the tornado and how the newspaper received the information of the tornado, which was by radio. The Tribune also covered how the tornadoes affected Missouri and Indiana. It also included a map showing where the tornado killed people and the path of the tornado. Coverage continued through March 31, 1925, with articles updating relief fund progress.

Murphysboro residents walk among the rubble of several buildings that wen' destroyed by the powerful tornado.

The tri-state tornado that struck on March 18, 1925, left many people dead and many towns in southern Illinois in ruins. The newspapers in Illinois all covered the disaster in different ways. After researching some newspapers, I conclude that the Herrin Herald had the most descriptive and informative coverage among the newspapers that I researched. In addition to numerous front-page articles, it also had pictures of the destruction and charts of the deaths and injuries. This may be due to the proximity of Herrin to Murphysboro. The Duquoin Tribune, mainly covered how towns closer to Duquoin were affected by the tornado and did not have as much about Murphysboro as the Herrin paper did. The Chicago Tribune covered the storm, more broadly including its effects on other states. This is most likely due to the fact that it was a large, national paper. Although I was disappointed that the Duquoin Tribune did not cover the destruction of Murphysboro more, I believe that the newspapers I researched did a good job in covering the tornado as it pertained to their targeted subscribers.— [Duquoin Tribune, March 25, March 27, 1925; Herrin Herald, March 20, 1925; Chicago Tribune, March 19, 1925.]

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