Note: The following is one of a series of columns looking at places and events of interest in Bulloch County history.
The Bulloch Herald announced in its Aug. 15, 1940 newspaper that the damages from the recent hurricane (primarily on Aug. 11 and 12) were estimated to have reached a total of almost $1 million in Bulloch County alone.
Total damages to the region reached more than $13 million, with Charleston suffering $1.5 million in property damage and Savannah suffering some $1 million in property damage as well. It was called the worst storm to have hit the coast in 29 years.
The hurricane plowed right through the center of Bulloch County, ripping off many roofs, snapping and shattering hundreds of thousands of trees, blocking almost all local highways, and devastating many of the fields laden with crops throughout the county.
The storm first hit Beaufort, South Carolina when it approached the coastline. There were recorded wind speeds of over 90 miles per hour and a 13-foot storm tide, which earned it the classification of an unnamed Category 1 hurricane.
The inland city of Louisville, Georgia recorded nearly 14 inches of rain in a 24-hour period, while the coastal cities of Charleston and Beaufort received between 11 and 13 inches of rain during the storm.
After sweeping inland, the storm hit Bulloch County mid-Sunday afternoon with winds of over 50 miles per hour and gusts of upwards of 75 miles per hour. The storm badly damaged corn and bean crops and destroyed almost 90 percent of the pecan and pear crops.
In downtown Statesboro, the large neon signs at the Greyhound bus station and the City Drug store had been blown down and most of the storefront windows had been blown in at both the A&P grocery store and Thackston's cleaner.
In addition, the roof was torn off at Cobb and Fauxhall's largest tobacco warehouse and at the College Street primary school, causing over $10,000 in water damage in those two buildings alone.
Local insurance agencies reported receiving over five hundred damage claims, but stated that unfortunately only some 30 percent of the policies had covered the storm damage to local businesses and residences.
Some locals compared the intensity of and damage to that of the 1929 tornado which had devastated Bulloch County. A total of 50 deaths were attributed to this hurricane. While two people died in Savannah, luckily none perished in Bulloch County.
The storm continued its devastation as it moved northward, dropping over 20 inches of rain in some areas of North Carolina, which set off massive mudslides in the mountainous areas. Many of the storm's fatalities were suffered as a result of these mudslides and flash-flooding.
Roger Allen is a local lover of history. Allen provides a brief look each week at the area's past. E-mail Roger at rwasr1953@gmail.com.