into Richmond County and produced sporadic damage until just southeast of Rockingham. Extreme damage to pine forests was first noted just south of town. Strengthening considerably, the storm swept through the southeast edge of Rockingham, where large homes were destroyed to their foundations, and large hardwood trees were snapped at ground level. The Philadelphia Church community (presently on U.S. Highway 1, northeast of downtown Rockingham) was devastated, with most of the poorly constructed dwellings in the community completely destroyed. The storm had widened to nearly in width at this point. The storm then tracked through what is now the town of Hoffman, before entering Moore County. Severe damage was again seen in the community of Manly (presently at the northeast corner of the city of Southern Pines). The storm then curved slightly to the east, dissipating into a wide area of downburst damage near the community of Johnsonville. A total of 23 people were killed. An unusually detailed accounting of the storm's passage through Richmond County was provided two days later: a local resident undertook an informal, but detailed survey of the damage produced by the storm, and this account was published in an Anson County newspaper. This accounting establishes a steady southwest-to-northeast movement through the county, with a number of buildings – sharecropper cabins, large homes, and a mill – swept away along the path. As the storm passed southeast of downtown Rockingham, it may have peaked in intensity; it was noted that all structures along a segment of the path (beginning at this point) were destroyed. The surveyor noted a path width of , with the most extreme damage (and most deaths) in the Philadelphia Church community. The surveyor noted that: Trees were taken up by the roots and hurled with fearful rapidity through the air and those not uprooted had all the bark taken off. The scene after the storm, particularly the position of the prostrate trees, indicated a convergence toward the center, as if a vacuum was created there and the wind rushed in from either side to fill it. A second, detailed survey of the path was made 10 days later by J. A. Holmes; his findings were published in the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society journal for 1884. Eyewitnesses reported large hail and intense lightning displays preceding the storm. Moving to the northeast, away from Rockingham, the storm also produced severe damage in the Keyser