The 1927 tornado defined Poplar Bluff

In case you didn’t know, there is a museum here in Poplar Bluff. It has tales of us, our family, and our history. I want to tell you some of those tales found within the museum walls.

Unless you’re new to Poplar Bluff, you know a tornado hit the town in the old days. Poplar Bluff history is broken down into two parts, before the tornado and after the tornado. In 1927 Poplar Bluff was still a young town. It was growing. The dirt roads and horses were replaced by brick streets and Model T’s. First generation markets and stores were popping up on Main Street and electricity was city wide. Poplar Bluff was almost a city.

Then on May 9th, the tornado came out of nowhere. Mother Nature’s finger reached down and touched the Earth. Downtown was literally wiped off the map. Poplar Bluff was returned to the stone-age in one afternoon. An entire generation of friends and neighbors were gone. There are still people today walking among us with holes in their hearts grieving for their lost family.

Poplar Bluff just doesn’t just exist between Menard’s and Walmart. It has an old soul. If you stand quietly on the old brick streets you can feel it. Tears still run down the bricks, they remember. There is a tornado monument located in front of the old Frisco depot. Go there and run your hands over the 86 names engraved on the Missouri red granite. You will feel the soul of Poplar Bluff.

The Poplar Bluff Museum has a photo gallery of the tornado. The pictures go from street to street. Stand on the corner and then look at the photos and compare. What it was like then? The devastation is shocking. How did they ever recover? Everything built after 1927 stands defiantly as a testament to the determination of the people of Poplar Bluff to go on, we’re not beaten.

Butler County historian Kati Wylie Ray wrote the definitive account of the 1927 tornado in her book “Poplar Bluff Tornado.” It is a “must read” for all residents of Poplar Bluff. It puts in perspective who we are as a community as defined by our darkest hour. The horror, tragedy, devastation and heroism of our people is documented in her book. In those pages you will find the soul of Poplar Bluff.

The Poplar Bluff Museum is open every Sunday free of charge from 1pm to 4pm at 1010 Main Street, Poplar Bluff (Formerly the Old Mark Twain School). The book “Poplar Bluff Tornado” is also available at the museum or on Amazon.

Mike Shane is a veteran, Poplar Bluff resident and board member for the Poplar Bluff Museum.