The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1875-04-03 00:00:00

DESTRUCTIVE FLOOD IN THE DELAWARE

RIVER.

New York papers just received by the Hamburg-
American steamer Silesia contain full details of the
destructive floods in the Delaware River. Near Port
Jervis the Delaware was partly frozen, and the ice and
water forcing their way through a gorge above Ger-
manstown, found the entire channel from Simm's
Cliff to that point, a distance of a mile and a half, a
solid wall of ice. An immense dam was soon formed,
and the water commenced overflowing its banks.
Germanstown is a part of Port Jervis, consisting of
about 200 houses with between 1,500 and 2,000 inhabi-
tants. An engine coming from the Delaware Bridge
sounded the alarm, and all the inhabitants escaped un-
injured. The water now forced its way over the bank of
the river, a short distance above the bridge, to a large tract
of ground owned by the Erie Railway Company. This
consisted of some 35 acres, and was surrounded by a
double line of tracks which were filled with cars, ex-
cept just where the water was forcing its way over the
bank. The cii..,luure forms a sort of basin from two
to ten feet deep, and the water carried huge cakes of
ice over the outer line of tracks into this basin. Then
flowing over the track it pursued its way towards the
extensive shops of the Erie Railway. The water had
all this while been forcing its way to the great dam at
Simm's Cliff, and many anxious eyes were turned in
that direction. About 8.30 a long, narrow strip of water
was discovered a short distance above the channel which
had been made by the Erie engineers' and the cry,
"It's started! It's started! ' was heard from all sides.
The ice floated off in the made channel, at first slowly,
but, gaining headway, soon disappeared. Another
section broke loose, and then another. Soon it was
evident that the dam was broken, and the whole gorge
in motion. Now all eyes were turned to the Barret
Bridge, almost every one looking for its instant des-
truction. But the upheaved masses seemed to Bette
as they approached. and passed by, leaving it for the
time unharmed. While congratulations upon the
safety of Barret Bridge were yet passing from one to
another some one cried out Here comes the iron
bridge," and sure enough, not a quarter of a mile
away, appeared two sections of the Delaware Bridge.
No. 2, floating rapidly toward the now doomed suspen-
sion bridge, had toppled over and lay on its side,
but was yet sufficiently high to do great damage.
On it came, and scarcely five minutes had
elapsed from its first appearance until it struck
the bridge. The spans had become sepa-
rated, one coming down on the New York
side of the river and slightly ahead of the other on the
Pennsylvania side. The iron mass struck the flooring
of the bridge at 9.55, and, forcing it ahead, broke it
from the upper cable. The lower cable remained
firm, being carried over the middle and New York
towers. A few seconds later the Pennsylvania span
was also struck, and the further tower shared the
fate of the others. This left the three upper towers
standing intact, the cable swinging in the wind.
The falling of the tower caused the cable to float
down the stream, and a small house standing just
below the bridge on the New York side was completely
demolished. When the bridge was struck by the
moving mass of iron it swayed backward and for-
ward a few times, then a loud crashing was heard
and the river moved on as before. That part of the
iron bridge on the Pennsylvania side disappeared
beneath the ice, about half-a-mile below Pike street,
near the turn in the river, while the other part re-
mained on the top of the ice until lost in the windings
of the stream. Now that the waters had found an
outlet they began to subside in all parts of the village,
and soon the danger to dwellings, &c., was passed.
The waters that had been coursing over King-street
disappeared, and the people flocked to view the ruins
of the bridge. They found, in the place of the ice
gorge a rapidly flowing river. The ice on either side
forme
d perpendicular walls, and here and there a
small island of ice could be seen ruing as high as the
gorge had been. The people now began to return to
their homes, and by noon the great danger was looked
upon as a thing of the past. The losses are very
large.