A cyclone, considered one of the two most disastrous in Texas history, struck Goliad on Sunday, May 18, 1902. The twister touched down on the south side of the San Antonio River at 3:35 p. m. Sounding like a heavily loaded freight train, the storm ripped a mile long, half-mile wide path across the northwest section of town, destroying over 100 homes and leaving an official death toll of 114. At least 50 members of a black Methodist church died when their sanctuary was razed. After the disaster, the Goliad County courthouse served as a temporary hospital and morgue.
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