A tornado that cut through White River Township on April 19, 1996 uprooted this tree on Smith Valley Road.
Daily Journal Archive Photo
News from around Johnson County as reported on April 20 in the pages of the Daily Journal and the Franklin Evening Star from the last 111 years.
On this day in 1996, the main story in the Daily Journal focused on tornadoes that ripped through Johnson County the night before.
Two tornadoes and severe thunderstorms plowed through the county on April 19, 1996, knocking out power, dumping golf ball-sized hail and twisting and tossing mobile homes.
The worst hit areas were reported at Smith Valley Road and Morgantown Road and at Indy RV on State Road 37, a Johnson County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson told the Daily Journal.
Damage was also reported in the Friendly Village and Glendale trailer parks, the Bluff Acres subdivision in White River Township, and the community of Old Smith Valley.
In Old Smith Valley, there were reports of roofs torn off and houses shifted off their foundations.
“Some of the houses are mangled. (The residents) said they saw a tornado and heard the rumble of a freight train,” said Lt. James Meacham of the White River Township Fire Department.
White River Township firefighters reported treating several minor injuries, including cuts, bruises and dislocations.
The path of the first tornado began along Smith Valley Road moving west to east. The second tornado took a path heading off to the northeast, said Sgt. Mike McElwain of the sheriff’s office.
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Other memorable Johnson County stories from this day
2010
“The Oprah Winfrey Show” gave a Greenwood man a makeover when the show was in Indianapolis for the NCAA Final Four.
2002
A Blue River Township resident was talking about how he bought a piece of history: one of Florida’s notorious punch-card voting machines used during the 2000 presidential election.
1995
A Trafalgar woman was helping counsel victims of the Oklahoma City Bombing. The woman, who traveled between Oklahoma and Johnson County frequently, was at her Oklahoma City-area home when the bombing occurred.
