Air View of Cyclone, May 22, 1921, Searsport, Me ( Cook Photo)

Air View of Cyclone, May 22, 1921, Searsport, Me ( Cook Photo)

This image, taken from an elevated perspective from across Main Street, shows the heavily damaged Havener house (at right) and the neighboring Sargent house following the tornado. A man works on the roof of the Sargent house while another stands on the ground beside a ladder propped up against the left side of the house. An automobile is parked on the street in the foreground. Penobscot Bay and a large vessel are visible in the distance. Some time later the Pendleton/Havener House was moved across the street and slightly reconfigured. 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. In this image the way in which the Havener House was treated by the tornado is clearly evident. According to the Republican Journal, "The 1859 Phineas Pendelton House ...was lifted eight inches in to the air and dropped back on the foundation." The damage from the impact of that drop shows in the severaly buckled walls of the house. Long boards prop the sides of the house up, while a "Keep Out" sign at the front warns people away.