At about 8:30 pm, on Monday evening, June 8, 1953, a tornado touched down near the intersection of W. Coldwater and North Linden roads, just north of Flint. Before the storm left Genesee County, 116 people died in the Beecher district. A one half mile wide track of destruction was left.

Most people living in the area were at home with the children in bed. By the time people heard the storm's roar their houses were being torn apart.

The slow moving tornado wrecked 340 houses, severely damaged many others and injured 844 persons. The major damage was concentrated between Clio Road & N. Dort Hwy. This area contained mostly small homes with some businesses and a high school.

The Beecher tornado was the last single tornado to cause over 100 deaths the United States. It is ranked the 9th deadliest tornado in U. S. history.

For information about the community-wide memorial that took place on June 8, 2003, see the National Weather Service site at www.crh.noaa.gov/dtx/1953beecher/.