The Nankin Township Historical Society

Plymouth Mail , June 23, 1899 The life of the prominent people of our towns are much the same as ours except that their trevails are given greater attention. If you recall, during the building of Henry Sustedt's [sic] factory at Romulus a tornado knocked it to the pilings. In this case it was spooked horses that knocked him down from his carriage to the iron bridge crossing the Rouge in Wayne causing a broken shoulder, two ribs, thigh and a thumb.

Detroit Free Press , May 24, 1893 I almost gave up on my many Romulus searches based solely upon it not being Nankin specific and had I done so would have missed out on this very important article concerning a place which is meaningful to many of us, William Ganong Cemetery. During a tornado outbreak on May 23, 1893 the farm of Frederick Kugath was hit by a heavy windstorm and he was struck by a board blown from one of the buildings and died from his injuries. Also damaged was the early skeleton of the newly built Henry Sustedt Furniture store Weston Building which was completely destroyed though eventually rebuilt. The barn of S. R. Kingsley was blown from its foundation with windows blown out and fruit and forest trees damaged. Other locations hit with damage were Dexter, which was slammed by a tornado, Howell, Ypsilanti, Jackson, Holly, Fenton, Benton Harbor, Lapeer, Adrian and Rogers City.