The Pinkstaff Tornado of 1956

This is one of several photographs of a house belonging to the Childress family taken after the tornado struck the Pinkstaff area in 1956. Note that the houses just to the north of it were not damaged. The front porch of this house though was blown off and both chimneys were broken but left leaning on the top of the roof when the tornado lifted the entire house off its foundation. (Shown in this picture in the lower center is a lightbulb attached to a beam that remained intact.) A small refrigerator was deposited in a field to the northeast by the force of the wind, the door for it was found 3 1/2 miles east of Pinkstaff. The family’s entire apple orchard was not only destroyed but only one mature tree was ever located.

The Pinkstaff Grade School, a two story four- room school, was completely destroyed. The tornado hit on a Saturday preventing the loss of many lives.

The remains of the one of the three PInkstafff churches.