Chicago Fire causes an increase in East St. Louis passenger train travel. City natives are anxious to see the destruction wrought by Mrs. O'Leary's infamous cow.

A destructive tornado hits the city with great loss of life and properly.

Wiggins Ferry Company suffers extensive damage, but donates $5,000 to the relief fund in an effort to lessen criticism about their monopoly. Witnesses say that George W. Hassett, driver of an express, was blown fifty feet. One man, Lee Barrowman, claimed that he thought it was the end of the world and the sight of the horrible destruction turned his hair white. Another man was trapped when the roof of the train roundhouse collapsed and timber fell on his hand. He told a co-worker to get an ax and cut it off before the burning timbers reached him. But the engineer was consumed by the flames before this could be done. All that was left was a roasted lump. The tornado damaged some of the structure of the Eads Bridge which was still in the process of being built.

The tornado also hits the village of Nameoki, hurling railroad boxcars into the air. The place was named Nameoki (the local Indian word for smoky) by a railroad conductor because the air was clouded due to soot from the steam engines.

The new Relay Depot is built on 1st Street.

Wiggins Ferry is forced to move its operation further south due to a change in current of the Mississippi caused by the river striking the piers from the Eads bridge, still in the course of construction.

City Council begins paying police officers with script in lieu of hard cash. These are notes stating that the men have a certain amount of money coming to them in the form of salary, and are to be honored by merchants in the city. However, business interests in the city have little confidence in the city government- and refuse to accept the script. The cash/script feud will be an on again, off again thing for about four years.