Gainesville, Georgia, Seeks Marker to Remember Deadly Fire

GAINESVILLE, Ga. – Leaders of a northeast Georgia town are seeking a historic marker to commemorate the deaths of dozens of young women, killed when a tornado slammed into their factory and the building caught fire in 1936.

The Gainesville City Council agreed this week to submit an application to the Georgia Historical Society to place a historical marker at the spot, The Times of Gainesville reported (http://bit.ly/YNFJgp ).

The tornado that struck Gainesville in 1936 is considered one of the deadliest in U.S. history, with about 200 people killed according to some estimates.

The tornado struck the Cooper Pants Factory, causing a collapse that set off the fire there. It killed at least 40 workers who were trapped inside, authorities said. Some bodies were never identified.

“This was an event of national significance,” said Garland Reynolds Jr., an architect whose father worked in a butcher shop near the factory at the time of the tornado and fire. “It’s the largest loss of lives due to a fire caused by a tornado in U.S. history.”

Reynolds said it’s still unclear how many workers, mostly young women, perished in the fire. Estimates range from 40 to 125, he said.

Reynolds’ father was nearby when the fire broke out.

“I recall him telling me how he stood outside and heard the women scream as they died,” he said. “They knew they were doomed.”

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Information from: The Times, http://www.gainesvilletimes.com