, 1864-07-25
AWFUL CATaSTROPHE!!
Falling Of 4 Portion Of the Block
ley Almsbouse.
Department fer Insane Fe.
-. males in RuinS.~FearfuI
Destruction of Life.
Incidents, Etc, Etc.

- From the Philadelphia Enquirer, July e9th.1
We tayc at different times been called up
on to record catastrophes, casualties, and
other Incidents involving serious sacrifice
By boiler explosions, raIlroad accidents, igni-
ton of powder in buildings, causing the
destruction Of the same, the ravages Vi fire,
&c, but never, In a1l our reportorial ex-
perience, have we been called upon to tur.
nieh the public with the particulars Of q seti-
character as that which transpired yesterday
morning In the department Of the Blockley
Hospital, situated on the Darby road, about
three fourths OF q mile below Market street
bridge.
At the time and place indicated, nearly
my Of that unfortunate class Of hu imam be-
ibgs whose mental capacity was OF such
small ca1iber that they could not be permit
It'd to mfngle in society ut large, but were
Eept In state Of semi-conflnement in that
portion Of the B1ockley Hospital a2proprl-
ated to the insane, were, without moments
preparation OF warning, either ushered from
time into eternity, seriously wounded. or
classed among the missing.
At least eighteen poor imbectles, all fe-
males, With the exception Of IN itlotic aud
0efor1ned boy, six years Of age, wera in
stantly killed, and the probability Is that the
list OF mortality VIII receive additional mum
bers from day to day for some days to coma.
While viewing th=se bodies, It. must be
borne in mind that others are known to be
dead and within the ruins, and for the recoy-
cry of Which gangs Of men are actively at
work; and again, IN in apartment not fir
distant, twenty Of the same unfortunate class
are lying IN a mangled state, some never to
recover; others seriously injured, and others
again merely suffering from 6light concu,.
sions, &c.
The following statement, In general terms
of the calamity that took place yesterday
will serve. to give the reader tolerably cor
rect idea Of the terrible occurrence.
The southwestern portion of the B1ockley
A)mshonse, consisting Of an entire side Of.
the spacious edidce, which constitutes sort
of world within itself, Ia appropriated to the
use Of the insane cent there, and that por~
tion bordering on the open space or iaclos.
9re within the building IS set apart for the,
There are ut present 378 women under
treatment for insanity, and they au occupy
apartments in the portion OF the building
The insane department for women is d.
yided into several compartments, three
stories in height One of these, aud the one
that was the scene Of the terrible uccIdent
yesterday, adj0fps the extreme southwestern
wing Of the building, and Is. divided into an
'nfrmary for the old, sick Or decrepgd, which
occupies the third floor, and Is under charge
The second floor Is used as sort of sitting
room for the patients that are able to move
about, and is undt1 control Of Mrs. McDon.
aid, while the first or ground floor is used as
dining room and for other purposes, and
conducted By Mrs. Ackly. -.
The apartment that WIS the scene of the.
catastrophe is forty.tlEe feet By fort s-eisht
In area, and has height Of sixteen feet be-.
tween each floor.
In the morning, at o'clock, the hell rang
: as usual to.arouHe the inmates to get ready
for breakfast, and while that meal was il
preparation, at. tncnty minutes before eix
o'clock, sudden settlement Of the compart-
1I ent we have described was Visible, aud be-
fore the slightest warning or alarm could, be
communicated to the inmates, the whsle OF
the three floors, from the roof down, fell In
with tremendous crash, carrying everything.
inmates, furniture, clothine, beds and bed.
IN the downward career until the nooorln9
over the cellar was reached, when everything
aud every boJy became involved III perfect
chaos Of ine1rrfcab]e confusion.
As near as the nurses could inform us there
were at the time Of the accident about twenty
and about fifty In each Of the lower ones,
making one hundred aud twenty In ali
4 large number of these unfOrtunates we're
at once buried beneath the t.a1len ruins, while
others aljghted on the surface Of the debris,
and were extricated without mIch difficulty.
There was no succession Of shocks, no
stoppage in the filling mass, but very few
secunds after the first sympto ms OF a giving
way were perceptiele nothing remaiued to
mark the apartment buta few broken beams.
plaster and i.tha sticking to the walls, and j
dead, d. Ing and struggling mass Of humanity
on the lower floor, completely covered rp
with the remains of what had constituted
that portion Of the insane department.
The noise created By the fall was terrific,
and cculd be heard a considerable dIatauce:
1t created much alarm In all parts OF the
spacious Almbhouse, ami the inmates were
running. in all directions for some time
without any definite knowledge of what had
taken IlDce.
,As soon as practicable gangs OF men were
employed, who immediately commenced
digging tor the bodies. It vas not uatit the
= =: .:'