*ClarksvilleNow staffers Nicole June, Lee Erwin, Rob Selkow, Bonnie Portillo, and Kyle Davis contributed to this report.
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (CLARKSVILLENOW) – On Friday, January 22, 1999, much of the landscape of Clarksville was changed forever after a tornado cut a swath of destruction through downtown and moved across the Red River into the St. Bethlehem area.
The F3 tornado struck just after 4 a.m. with winds estimated at 200 miles per hour. With the devastation the storm created, it can be called a miracle that no one was killed and there were only a few minor injuries reported. With homes and businesses destroyed, some people were left homeless and many others out of work. There were an estimated 25,000 people without power.
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The National Weather Service said the tornado ripped apart a 5-block area of downtown Clarksville and damaged at least 22 buildings at Austin Peay State University.
“Once the tornado ravaged the city, downtown Clarksville resembled bombed-out London during World War II. Bricks and glass were strewn everywhere,” a NWS review said.
Photos courtesy of National Weather Service
The Montgomery County Court House was in ruins and the Leaf-Chronicle newspaper office was severely damaged. Several historic churches were also damaged. A total of 124 buildings were destroyed and 562 buildings were damaged. NWS said the damage totaled $72.7 million.
The National Guard and FEMA were also called in to help. On January 23, FEMA Director James Lee Whitt toured the devastation.
“Wow! It’s like someone dropped a bomb on it. That’s just what it looks like,” Whitt said of the damage.
Twenty years later, two public officials closely involved with the disaster and recovery efforts spoke with Clarksvillenow.com about what they, as well as the city and county, went through at the time.
Montgomery County Mayor Jim Durrett was Clarksville Street Department Director when the tornado hit. He said he had been notified by the 911 center that morning that a really bad storm was on the way.
As the storm struck, Durrett said he and another street department employee were driving on College St. as rain was coming down horizontally with debris flying by. There was a point on Wilma Rudolph Blvd. where he said their truck was blown sideways a full lane over as they drove over downed power lines.
Photos courtesy of The All State
At that point the two jumped out of the vehicle and took cover under the railroad bridge at Rossview Rd. and as Durrett put it, they dove over the guardrail, scrambled up the rip-rap and got under the abutment of the bridge and stayed there until the wind died down.
Durrett said as they drove back into town on College St. they saw scenes like a car upside down with a mailbox sticking out from under it with the keys still in the ignition. As he found more destruction in the dark, he said they didn’t realize how bad it was until daylight.
“It was so impressive to see all the different people in the initial few days of the cleanup who came forward. I think it was great that the community came together,” Durrett said. “It’s taken 20 years, but we’ve seen so much progress taking place downtown with all the different shops that have come along and the Downtown Commons.”
Mayor Joe Pitts was Executive Director of the Clarksville Area Chamber of Commerce during the disaster. That morning he said he began to see debris on the roadway as he headed into the chamber office, which at the time was located on Madison St.
He said when his headlights hit Madison St. United Methodist Church and he saw sections of the building in the street, he knew there was a problem. At first, in spite of the surrounding damage, Pitts said it appeared calm and quiet and time seemed to stand still.
“One of the amazing things was to watch the emergency personnel, first responders of the city, county, state, and federal government come together. Whatever we needed they were there to respond and that was encouraging,” Pitts said.
He said a number of local officials worked tirelessly to help merchants and businesses downtown get back into their buildings safely.
“It was very gratifying to see our community pull together at such a critical time. It tells us we can work together if we try,” he said. “In times of crisis, Clarksville comes together and it’s neighbor helping neighbor. We saw soldiers out, we saw church groups and other groups clear debris and do everything they could, even bringing food to the emergency workers because they were working 24-7. It was just astounding.”
Mayor Pitts said the tornado changed the trajectory of our downtown area and gave us opportunities to really focus resources downtown.
Photos courtesy of Bill Persinger, APSU
ClarksvilleNow reporter Lee Erwin was living downtown when the tornado struck. He shared his unique experience below:
“On the morning of January 22, 1999 I was awakened a little before 4:00 in the morning by the sound of a severe thunderstorm. It was shortly after that my apartment building lost power and I stepped on the porch to see if it was just my building or the whole area.
I lived just a couple of blocks from the campus of Austin Peay State University and could hear what sounded like rumbling coming from the direction of the university. I turned on the radio and heard the Emergency Alert System announcing a tornado had reportedly struck Clarksville.
I contacted the radio station, which at the time was on State Line Road, and no one was aware of the tornado. I began trying to contact local emergency personnel for information but as you can imagine everyone was very busy with their jobs.
I went to the radio station and picked up the Q-108 van and headed back downtown, parked at the apartment, and began walking through downtown calling in reports to the radio station on my mobile phone.
There was so much destruction with fallen trees, utility lines down, and damaged buildings with some partially collapsed. Many cars and trucks were either crushed by debris or flipped over. I remember in front of APSU on College St. at University Ave. a car was flipped over on its top with a mailbox sticking out from underneath it.
I was concerned because in some areas I smelled the odor of natural gas. Along with first responders, police and fire personnel, a lot of people were doing what I was doing, which was trying to take it all in while looking at what had happened.
Starting on Monday, January 25 the radio station joined in helping to promote fundraising and collection efforts for those who had lost their homes or suffered severe damage. The community also came together to support the police officers, the fire department, and other emergency personnel who were beginning recovery efforts.”
Photos by Bonnie Portillo/ClarksvilleNow.com
An anniversary exhibit is currently on display at the Customs House Museum (200 S. Second Street) through April 28 in the Orgain/Bruner Galleries Gallery.
As the dust settled, many people downtown noticed a unique banner at the Customs House that had survived the storm. Check out the #ElvisLives story below:
*ClarksvilleNow staffers Nicole June, Lee Erwin, Rob Selkow, Bonnie Portillo, and Kyle Davis contributed to this report.