By William “Skip” Deegans
In April of 1895, lighting struck the Donnally house on Lewisburg’s east Washington Street (shown in this circa 1904 photo). According to an article in The Greenbrier Independent, “A stroke of lightning on Monday evening last caused more excitement here than has been witnessed from a similar cause for years. Struck Mr. H. W. Donnally’s house, shocked Mrs. Donnally, tore the doors off a safe, and caused three teams to run away. Two of the teams were on Main Street and the other started from Mr. J. G. Cox’s mill. The first one belonged to Mr. Thos. Lynch, and the wagon was completely wrecked and the horses were considerably cut and scarred. The other two teams were stopped before any damage was done.” Stories passed down in the Donnally family tell of windows broken in their house by the strike.
Photo: Courtesy of Morgan Donnally Bunn.
Sources: The Greenbrier Independent, Morgan Donnally Bunn. club wpix