From collection Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Company Collection
S. M. Webber House, Searsport, Maine after Cyclone, May 22, 1921 ( Photo by Cook)
[included in the exhibit "Waldo County Through Eastern's Eye"] The image shows three people standing beside the damaged Webber mansion, a once elegant Colonial Revival style residence. Formerly owned by Captain Phineas Pendleton, the structure was severely damaged during the Searsport "Sunday Cyclone" of May 22, 1921. The force of the storm moved the home eight feet on its foundation, and the interior was ruined by the shifting of the walls. The barn collapsed. The propoerty was the first building in the path of the tornado as it struck the town. The May 26, 1921 issue of The Republican Journal of Belfast reported " Searsport was visited Sunday afternoon by a genuine cyclone, the like of which was never known in this locality..." Many other Searsport structures were devastated by the cyclone as it moved in a sweeping arc from the northwest. As the storm moved out to sea, it did extensive damage to the docks at Mack's Point, which was estimated to run into the thousands of dollars, a substantial amount of money at that time. Amazingly, there were no fatalities and only a few serious injuries during the cyclone. The Webber house stood on the north side of Main Street and was puportedly the first home to be struck.
