73 Years After The Destruction

September is considered by many to be the ideal month in New England. The heat and humidity ease up and one can almost expect crisp, sunny days.

Unfortunately, as we were reminded this year, September’s second face is tainted with a hurricane or tropical storm from time to time. 

As storms brew south and head up the coast, we now have more advanced technology such as satellites, radar and aircraft to give New England residents ample warning to prepare or evacuate. This was not always the case.

The hurricane of 1938 - devastating in New England - was first noted on Sept. 18, 1938, by a weather station in Florida.  At the time, the storm was located East of Havana and moving toward Florida. Upon reaching the Bahamas, the storm spun out to sea and was expected to dissipate as most storms do.

But weather conditions aligned perfectly off the Carolina coast to fortify what became a 500-mile wide hurricane that struck on Sept. 21, 1938 with 120 mph winds. By the time it hit Groton at 3 p.m., it was too late.

“The 1938 hurricane will go down as one of the most memorable and historical events in the lives of those who experienced and lived through the storm," said Groton Town Historian and Mayor Jim Streeter. "It was a devastating storm and caught so many, if not all, by surprise.”

Technology was not sophisticated enough to permit advanced warning systems, and local residents had no idea when the sky turned black and winds uprooted trees that the storm would rage for the next three hours.

To make matters worse, tides were unusually high when the storm hit, which raised the Mystic river a reported 8 feet and caused excessive flooding. 

On September 21, 1938, late Groton historian Carol Kimball wrote her first-hand experience of the hurricane.  At the time, she was teaching elementary school in Scotland, CT.

”It grew very dark, the lights went out and the wind screeched and roared.  Through the windows we could see huge trees falling across the road,”  Kimball said. She continued, “We played piano and sang loudly, putting up a brave front against outside terrors.”

Three woman at Groton Long Point were thrown 200 feet in their car and later found submerged. A police officer returned home after the ordeal to find his house and family washed away without a trace. Ten local deaths were reported and two days after the hurricane, the Day listed scores of deaths, injuries and missing persons.

According to Streeter, 270,000,000 trees were uprooted within a three hour period and nearly 700 people perished.

The eye of the storm, which grew to 50 miles wide, ravaged homes in Groton Long Point including the casino, which was sitting beside its foundation.  Churches were destroyed and boat yards cleared of boats, which were blown ashore and broken to bits.

“Many of the people I have spoken to over the years about the storm were children when it struck and the memories of what took place during and after the storm are burned into their memories, like a bad nightmare,” said Streeter.

"Even though in today's times were would have advance warning and could take many preventative or protective actions, a storm of the magnitude of the one in 1938 would still result in severe damage to our area. Let's keep our fingers crossed."