The Shelby County Tornado - April 18, 1953

This was described as the most severe economic blow in Shelby County history. The Buck Creek Cotton Mill sustained damage in excess of $3 million. All of the 159 company-owned houses in Siluria suffered varying degrees of damage, with at least 15 of them a total loss. There were miraculously no deaths in Siluria from the storm, although a number of Silurians passed away months and years later from other causes probably aggravated by their injuries. Siluria's tornado that day was only one of several severe windstorms and tornadoes that swept west to east across central Alabama, leaving an estimated 6 dead, hundreds injured, 185 homes destroyed and 950 damaged. After the tornado, an estimated 600 to 800 workers were out of jobs for up to a year. Two people were reportedly killed in Shelby County as a result of the tornado. Red Cross set up offices in Columbiana to assist the storm victims. Other towns that reported damage from the tornado included Alabaster, Genery's Gap, Byersville, Longview, Joiner Town, Cates Crossing and Kingdom.