For information on the
1955 Tornado
CLICK HERE

1879  J.M. Napier and P.W. Smith  purchased ten acre tract from I.N Nelson.  Both men were aware the railroad being built and the advantage of a small town near a railroad.

D.C. Green built the first house in Udall and opened a store.  The postmastership in Bushnell was soon moved to Udall.  

Udall was founded in 1881by J.M. Napier and P.W. Smith and was christened after English author Cornelius Udall.

Wednesday, May 25, 1955, 10:35 PM. The deadliest tornado to ever touch Kansas roared into Udall, completely leveling the town killing 83 residents and injuring 270. Almost every home in Udall was reduced to splinters. 192 buildings destroyed, 170 houses destroyed, and 18 homes standing but unlivable.  But by far the biggest lost came in the number of lives.  Around fifty per cent of the families in Udall lost one or more members of their families.  

Chief /Town Marshal  Wayne Keelys was in his home the night of the tornado and recalls that he was watching some TV and some of the local children were over. "I remember that there had been a tornado watch out earlier in the night, but that it was canceled an hour and a half BEFORE the tornado hit. The first warning we had was the noise. It was like a jet aircraft coming into town.  I got my family and the kids and got them into the cellar just before it hit.  I remember my wife trying to light a candle, and myself not being able to breath to well.  I was able to get a quick glance out of the cellar while the tornado was over us.  It looked like there was electricity inside of it.  I'm not sure if it was metal hitting together or maybe static electricity.  Debris was coming into the cellar and blocked the entrance.  

After the tornado passed we came out of the cellar. I looked down at my watch and it read 10:41 PM.  The first thing I saw was a neighbor laying in a flooded street.  One of the neighbors came up and said that my sister had been found in a ditch with a 2x4 through her.  She made it, how I don't know, but she pulled through.

There was  a 1952 Chevy pickup in the tree in my front yard.  The owner of the truck was found dead later outside of town.  I walked through the damage. I remember not being able to tell what part of town I was in.  We found another neighbor setting on a porch, setting down leaning up next to a pole like they were sleeping, but they were gone.  The water tower had been knocked over and the streets were flooded.  I saw an old model ford setting in the street near the water tower and it looked like it had not been touched.  The front window was still up, and it had not been broke."  That's where Mr. Keely's stops, and starts talking about the next day. More than 44 years later you can still hear the pain of that night in Mr. Keely's voice.  

A beautiful  monument, located in the city park, now stands to honor the lives that were lost, and the patch that is worn by the Udall Police has 83 stars that represent the number of people who lost their lives in the 1955 tornado.  

For information on the 1955 tornado CLICK HERE

Population: 824 (1990)
ZIP code: 67146
Area Code: 316 Elevation: 1267 feet
Latitude: 37° 23' 15" N
Longitude: 97° 6' 50" W