Centreville Press
By Jim Oakley
May 27, 1973
May 27, 1973, a day Bibb County and all of Alabama will never likely forget. At precisely 7:25 pm, the worst disaster in the entire history of Bibb County struck suddenly and most devastatingly in the form of a killer tornado.
Brent was the hardest hit area in the state with five known dead and the entire business section destroyed.
The victims were identified as Tom Green, Andrew Mitchell, Bertha Ann Hill, Till Hobson and Birdie Elam Doolittle. Green was killed when his home near Brent Housing was flattened. Mitchell died instantly when a wall caved in and covered the entire sanctuary of the Brent Baptist church. Hobson reportedly suffered a fatal heart attack during the storm. Hill died instantly when an object struck her in the back of the head in the house where she was near Save More Grocery. Doolittle died at DCH on Thursday following the tornado. Scores of people sustained injuries and were transported to nearby hospitals.
The first damage by the monster storm in Bibb County was to the National Weather Service weather station south of Brent. The radio tower was lifted off its pedestal and dumped onto the roof of the building. The radar had tracked the storm to Greensboro but lost contact with it until it hit the building.
Damage estimates run as high as 17 million dollars.
Rescue workers were hampered early in the search by their inability to travel on the streets. APCO officials reported over 110 poles down and estimated it might be several days before electric power would be restored. Phone crews from South Central Bell were also on the job around the clock.
Hundreds of automobiles were damaged or destroyed.
Gov. & Mrs. Wallace and Lt. Gov. Jere Beasely viewed the area on Monday afternoon and formally declared the area a disaster area.
Over 50 state troopers were dispatched to handle the mass of traffic that poured into the area. At least three Guard units were standing guard at the various businesses to prevent looting. Heavy damage to N.D. Cass Toy Company and Olon Belcher Lumber Company, both having recently completed building programs. The new sections of both businesses were destroyed. No financial estimates on loss have been made.
The storm that began in Greensboro hit Brent, then to Centreville crossed the river just south of the bridge, swung sharply left, traveled Hwy 82 where it did heavy damage to houses and automobiles in the Six Mile and Wilton areas and eventually wound up around 9:00pm when it struck the downtown area of Gadsden, AL inflicting heavy damage.
The Red Cross and Salvation Army were on the scene before midnight Sunday. The Red Cross operated out of the Centreville Baptist Church and the Salvation Army set up camp in Brent feeding distressed citizens and rescue workers. The Seventh Day Adventist Church had a food wagon there early Tuesday morning. People from Birmingham and Tuscaloosa were bringing clothing early Tuesday. (Condensed and edited/flh.)