ABSTRACT
On March 2, 2012 a devastating EF-4 tornado swept through Southern Indiana, killing forty people in the five states that were in its path. Among the communities affected by the tornado was Marysville, IN, a tiny community of several hundred residents. The town was settled along the railway tracks in 1871, with farming as the community’s economic base. Not much had changed since then until the tornado hit. The tornado wiped out the entire community and left no building standing in its aftermath. The question that remained was whether the community would rebuild. Writing on this subject, the Associated Press made this observation:
When a bigger population center such as Joplin, MO is crippled by tornadoes, there is rarely any question about rebuilding. Larger cities typically have greater resources and defined downtowns to serve as focal points. But this flyspeck village may have suffered a fatal blow.
