The storm was classified an F-4 tornado, which has wind speeds between 207 and 260 mph. It struck around 2:30 pm in the Niles-Vienna area. At the airport, personnel saw a “black cone-shaped cloud” to the south as 65 miles per hour winds and two-inch hail punctured the wings of aircraft.

The storm inflicted heavy damage to homes on Niles-Vienna Road and Youngstown-Vienna Road, where two people died, and Smith Stewart Road, where a woman and her grandchild died.

Niles escaped major damage from a tornado that struck the northern fringes of the city and roared eastward to wreak havoc in Sharon, PA. The tornado ripped a path of destruction along Deforest Road , touching down along North Road and Vienna Road.

June 7th 1947 an F4 tracked through Trumbull County Ohio, then in 1985 the Niles/ Wheatland F5 tornado took almost the exact same path 38 years later, with one week off of the exact same month and day.

Home of Dominic Mauro on North Road was badly damaged. The roof was ripped complete off and the interior heavily damaged. PO1.2

Two persons, one of them a small child, were killed when this home on Vienna Rd. was destroyed. PO1.3

The destruction of trees at Eckert's Corners, intersection of Routes 422 and 46. PO2.304

Niles Daily Times
June 12, 1947

One of the most beautiful suburban residential districts in this section of Niles in the vicinity of Ecker’s(Sp) Corners today is a twisted and torn mass of trees thrown about by the fury of last Saturday’s tornado which ripped through the area.

“Eckert’s Corners will never be the same,” sighed residents of the area as they were in the middle of cleaning up the damage today.

Eckert’s Corners has still not been cleared away and the true picture has not been shown. But when the trees are picked up and carted away, motorists will notice the difference in this once beautiful and shaded district which has been left an open plain.

At the Howard Mills home there was only one dogwood tree and two small trees left out of 75. The large trees surrounding the home fell away from the house. Only one tree fell on the house where it damaged part of the roof and a bedroom. “The trees have all been planted over a hundred years ago as evidenced by the roots.” Mrs. Howard Mills said.

Mrs. Fred Law said this morning that eleven of their maple and oak trees were destroyed. All were over 100 years old but the Laws are not planning to plant any more trees.

Mr. and Mrs. Russell Hertz are thankful these days. One of the large trees fell over and leaned against the house but very little damage was done. Several of the large sturdy trees were destroyed and will be replaced in time.

Dr. and Mrs. W.G. Brown lost most of their trees. The most damage was done in the backyard where the elm and oak formerly stood. The stable for the polo ponies was destroyed but all of the ponies were saved while another barn was also destroyed.

View of funnel cloud PO2.388

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Power equipment repair PO2.315

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Niles Daily Times
June 10, 1947
Power Equipment Set at $5,000
Power lines and service were expected to be completely restored by nightfall in all the tornado areas served by the Niles Light Department, Superintendent Bert Holloway said this morning.

“Power was restored on North Road Sunday morning and on Cortland Road at noon yesterday,” he said. Partial service was restored on Stillwagon and Mines Roads at 9 p.m. yesterday and we expect to complete the work by nightfall today.”

Holloway estimated damage and loss in material, labor and revenue to the Niles Light Department, resulting from Saturday’s tornado which ripped and tangled power lines above the roads, at $5,000.

“We haven’t, as yet, had time to make an accurate check of the detailed damage and loss, but it will be close to $5,000 in material, labor and loss of revenue,” he said.

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Tornado Destruction.
Niles Times
June 12, 1947
Five townships in Trumbull County were in the direct path of the twister, but the county’s major cities, Warren and Niles, escaped the full blast of the storm. Deforest, Eckert’s Corners, Howland, Brookfield, and Vienna suffered the most damage in the area.

Vienna had at least 50 houses that were damaged by the winds. Many houses were levelled and ripped from their foundations in the vicinity of Deforest Avenue. At Bolindale, trees were uprooted and several homes were toppled while others were partly destroyed. Thousands of trees throughout the storm area were uprooted or sheared off at the tops leaving their trunks bare and pointed. Orchards suffered heavily as the tornado pulled the precious fruit trees out of the ground.

The terrific force of the tornado can be explained only by its ability to pick up entire automobiles and hurl them three or four hundred yards and deposited in nearby corn fields. On one farm a tractor was twisted in half. At another, a truck was only a twisted mass of steel after the storm struck.

A two-story structure at Deforest housing a store and apartments was leveled and the owners, Mr. and Mrs. Nick Pznicks received minor injuries. Mrs. Irene Johnson crouched against a basement wall as the twister ripped off a side of the house.
Residents of the stricken areas reported seeing a funnel shaped black cloud which they first took for a column of smoke. The roaring sound increased as it got closer, and householders ran for their basements. Many people were taken by surprise and did not have time to seek protection.

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Pictured is an overturned truck at Elmer Brewer Trucking Co. Building visible in background. PO2.397

Pictured is an overturned truck at
Elmer Brewer Trucking Co. PO2.396

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Map showing approximate path of 1947 tornado. Beginning with the Deforest-Route 169 location, the funnel passed through Bolindal Hill area, crossed the Mosquito Creek area between the sandbar and Route 422, slightly to south of the Kiwanis Fresh Air Camp on Mines Road, finally causing considerable damage to the trees and homes at Eckerts Corners.

Kiwanis Fresh Air Camp located on Mines Rd.

Tornado Won’t Delay Fresh Air Camp Opening.
Niles Times
6.26.1947
“This place has opened on schedule for the past 20 years and I don’t imagine we’re going to let anything like a tornado ruin our record”. Harry Book, custodian and purchasing agent of the Trumbull County Kiwanis Fresh Air Camp and a group of hired men have been working day and night cleaning up the remains of the tornado which swept through the camp a few weeks ago. The twister destroyed 30 trees, tore down most of the electric wiring and left a trail of debris behind.

“When the storm struck,” Cook said, “there was a troop of girl scouts from Warren sleeping in the dormitory/ One of the trees fell on the roof. But no damage was done, except, maybe to scare the girls a little.”

In spite of the hard work that has been done, the task is far from finished. “There are still trees laying in the hollows and ravines and it will be very difficult to get them out.” Cook explained. The grounds near the sleeping quarters and the dining rooms are all cleared away and the camp is awaiting the arrival of the children Sunday.

Harvey Kistler, Niles Mayor 1924-28.

Personal Account of the 1947 Niles Tornado.
Niles Times as told by Harvey Kistler.
Harvey Kistler, well-known Niles resident, who was returning from Howland Corners on Route 46 Saturday afternoon, had a close-up view of the tornado twisting its way from Bolindale through Eckert’s Corners and over toward Sharon.
Reflecting on his experience today, he said, “Yes sir, I saw it go through and I hope to never see another one.”

“I was driving south on Niles-Cortland Road just north of Eckert’s Corners, when the sky suddenly turned so dark that I didn’t dare stop for fear someone would run into my car. I could see a big black funnel coming over the hill from Bolindale and it looked as if were heading right for my car. The wind blew harder and the rains got heavier; hail stones were making so much noise on the car roof that I couldn’t hear anything. The storm grew so violent that I stopped the car and backed into a driveway about a quarter mile north of Eckert’s Corners.”

“Mrs. Kistler was in the car with me and we were right on the edge of the tornado as it ripped through Eckert’s Corners. Just west of Route 422 and the Niles-Cortland Road, the big funnel dissolved and a little one appeared in its place. The little one was right on the ground and when it formed, things really started whirling. I don’t think the big funnel was touching the ground, but the little one was right on the ground,” the former mayor stated.

“From the ground the little funnel reached way up into the sky…I never saw such twisting and contortions in my life. The car bounced around in the wind and a couple of times I thought it was going to turn over. The hailstones were making an awful racket on the roof.”

“I have seen pictures of funnels before and I’ve seen tornadoes in the movies-but this was the real McCoy. It whirled through Eckert’s Corners and then ripped on to the northeast.”

“As soon as it had passed I started back to Niles, but couldn’t get down Route 46. I then went up 422 to the North Road intersection, but that too was blocked. I tried Route 169, but couldn’t get through there and finally went all the way around and in on Warren Avenue to get back to Niles.”

“It was a horrible experience and I hope to never see another tornado.”

It was 6:15 p.m. Tuesday when this writer, with Charles Sipple, assistant superintendent of Mahoning Valley Steel and Elmer Kraemer, advertising manager of the Times, embarked at a point just above the dam at the General Electric plant for a five mile cruise up the Mosquito Creek in Sipple’s trim green and brown motor boat powered by the new 1947 outboard motor.

Three persons journeyed up the creek looking for evidence of damage during the June 7, 1947 tornado that would be visible from a spot on the creek about three miles north more readily accessible than any other spot. To view this firsthand was the purpose of the trip.

We soon passed the Wade Rose housing addition (Ed. Wade and Wilson Avenues) and then the solitary brick pump house where the sewer from Republic Steel enters the stream. Then suddenly the picture changed and we were transported into a temporary solitude of thickets, water lilies and weeds. Across the stream a log snag reared its nose like a snake from the water, the current bubbling about it in its rush toward the dam and the Mahoning River.

Back to civilization for a moment, we passed a little collection of houses and trailers. This is the last habitation until Route 422, Charlie said.
He entered a land of little bays, trees growing down to the shore line and apparently out into the water. The terrain was thoroughly wooded on either shore. Some vines along the shore were sporting bright red leaves. A few wild flowers of varied hues appeared; old brown, water-rotted logs hung along the shore.

We rounded a curve and caught sight of a large gray crane which flew from the water into a thicket a few hundred feet ahead when he heard our motor. A little further on we came to a sort of peninsula, unforested save for a few old dead trees. This, our host told us was once known as the “second farmer’s swimming hole”, where Niles youths of a previous generation did a large part of their first swimming.

We started to get into the path of the worst part of the June 7, 1947 tornado here, a swath several hundred feet wide where huge trees had been blown down. Most impressive damage was in wood lots some ways back on either shore, however. Here tops of venerable trees had been completely split off like toothpicks by the great force of the wind. One large spreading tree in brush thicket to the east indicated the greatest force, all of its top half was gone, the large libs split off in great pointed splinters.

That the storm had followed a definite path was indicated by the demarcation lines on either side. The direction of the storm was shown by tall trees blown earthward at their roots and mostly pointed in a northeasterly direction. The storm evidently having blown through from the southwest. One could only image the fury unleashed over the lonely waters during the storm.
A 60 to 70 foot uprooted tree stretched across the stream and we were obliged, for safety’s sake, to shut off the motor and paddle through the narrow passageway.

Some distance farther, the land opened slightly for a while and a few men were swimming as we passed the North Road swimming hole. Soon we were passing the little settlement of summer homes and trailers just south of Route 422.

Past some more solitude, mossy stumps, and bushes with large round burrs growing in the water and we found ourselves going under the heavily traversed Route 422 bridge and past a few trailers on its north side.