Sunbury American and Shamokin journal. [volume] (Sunbury, Northumberland Co., Pa.) 1840-1848, 1843-08-12
AWFUL CALAMITY
Great Flood at Chester, ana Loss ofI.i ana
Property!

1he storm oil Saturday last prevented the South.
ern mail from reaching this city by the regular
route. The following letter, which we have re-.
ceived fom Chester, by private hand, gives full
account of the terrible disasters in ,ha, neiphbor-
hood. It bears the date Of Sunday. and comes
from gentleman who was in the vicinity at the
time -
"Chester and its vicinity are bowed down be-
meath the chastnng hand Of Providence. The bo.
rough and its neighborhood present Of deso-
lation, such as the absence Of the terors Of war;
have never been witnessed in this Stste. Our
shores are s,rewn with wrecks, our streets filled
with ruins, and from every section we hear tales of
terror and desolaion and death, ssfic ent to app,I
the stoutes, heart. The recent rain had fally sat-
ura,eJ the soil, and that of yesterday flowed from
! the surface. In the afternoon the rain began heavy
beyond description. II fell as if in a mass The
very hills were sheced with water and in the
valleys, runles became creeks and creeks were swoI.
len into rivers. freshet was. of course, anticpa.
ted but food, such ensued could not have
been apprchended. 1t is said that the passengers
in The afternoon boats saw a wa spou, burst upon
the heights between Ridley and Chester Creeks
but though any ordinary fall of rain, however CO.
pious seems inadequate to have produced the sub.
sequent food there is satisfactory evidence Of the
existence of wate..spout. Abou, six O'clock it
was found that Chester Creek was rapidly rising.
Every effort was instantly made to place such pro.
perty as was movable out of the reach of danger
bnt So instantaneous was the swell of water that
the next moment left no feeling but the instinct of
some, six feet in five minutes others aver that it
rose six feet in minute. The water poured
down as If wave of the had been swept on.
ward by an earthquake. In about two hours i; had
risen twcny-thrce feet. The neighboring creeks
were swollen in the same proportion and the roar
Of the mpetuous torrents rang for miles through
the country. The fools swept irresisbly onward.
The dams built for it. restraint were as reeds be-
fore the ocean that rushed by the channels were
lost, and the volume of water spread over the
plain, tearing up the largest trees, and sweeping
factories and buildings, like bubbles, upon its sur.
! face.
Fortunately this took place before dark, or the
U scene would have been terrible than it
was. 10 Chester the torren, rose a if by magic
and swept angri'y through the streets. The build
ings which most rail swept away /; and
IS fron Others females were horne through the angry
Y aud rushing waters half dead with alright. Hou-
ses, dams bridges, boas and an immense mass of
" lumber, furniture mill.wheels, &C. shot by upon
the ruin The rail road bridge, built at an enormous
=" expense was fed from its foundations and flung
~ down the stream. The next to follow was the
suspension bridge This structure was one Of which
every enlightened American proud it
\. the fir>t chain.hridgn hnlt in he WsrM Europe
d has since claimed the invention but here sto,l-
ID alas it stands longer the pro,f erected thir
a. wears ago, that To America belongs the credit Of
Ii having invented aud constructed the first suspen-
ut sion bridge. When the mass Of matter, which
it. shot upon The stormy and roaring torrent, struck
he the bridge it swaycd and eroaned, and length af
rs ter moments resistance, its iron fastenings
in gave way with a crash, and the hrns they gra.
ps ted upon each other, sp1rkled and flashed like
er lightning. It swung he,vily for moment aud
ng fell into the food. The water swept through
q several of the lower streets. saw this morning
he house in the middle of one stree and a shallop in
IT, another left there by the receding stream. The
ei- ue and extent o the INJURY done could not then
a. be estimated but it was with jismay which ap.
preached despair that citizens saw the flood ro in
to the storehouses and sweep their hard earnings
nj way. This morning, however, disclosed in part
nd the extent of the ruin. II was found that the
,rs whatves tan.yards machine shops, storehouses
yer lumber anil coal yards, &c, had been carried of
alf by the ,od or ruined by the inunlation Messrs
Eyres Kits, Brohs'on, Paxton, &c, are severe sui
nd ferers But the consequence. in Chester are trivia
ne in comparis) with those which have occurred
ho hghe, up on the Chester and Ridley creeks Every
nd bridge, or nearly every on those two streams
,n have been carried away. Many Of these were costly
H. and substantial structures, and it will cost an i'm.
on mense sum TO replace them Most of the mills and
ere factories upon those have shared the same
A fate.
csc The factory of Mr.. Croror, of Mr. Dickson, o.
Of Mr. Riddle and others, have been swept away. I'm
ore msnse number OF bales of cotton hoxes of goods
Mr. barrels of dyewood and barrels Of -four, have beer
carried down to the Delaware, or scattered upon th
ss meadows into which the nood in its fury, broke
of deposited lis spoils |, is believed that all the dam
els are gone. The pecuniary loss 10 individuals i
w, frghtfnlly grea, aid that which has fallen upor
or. the county is not less appalling. The lowest est
he mate Of loss is $3.50 900 ont this is made up.
ee' great extent, uIun conjecture The county vii
'ra probably np eonst,nel 10 Isse hy loan the mean