Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1870-10-07
THE FLOOD IN VIRGINIA.


THE FLOOD IN VIRGINIA.
Later accounts of the great flood in Vir-
ginia show it to have been even more disas-
trous than at first represented. The loss in
the State is roughly estimated at $50, 00O, 900.
| The James River and Kanawha Canal is near
| ly ruined, and there is no end to the destruc-
ton of private property. Intelligence from
the Shenandoah valley says the flood rose
nearly fifty feet above the usual level. One
| account says:
| 1t presented grand and fearful spectacle,
| bearing with its current mills dwellings, barns,
| crops-indced, everything that came in its
way. Large trees that had stood for centuries
| and marked its banks offered no impediments
! to its power, but were swept away as reeds.
! Its whole surface was covered with the accu-
| mutation from years industry. The destruc-
| ton of property in the counties of Rocking
| ham, Shenandoah, Clark and jefferson has
| been terrible, including the entire crops of
| corn and hay, with the unthreshed crops Of
| wheat, rye and oats. Along the river bottoms
almost all the river mills in Warren county
| are swept away, with many dwellings. Near
| Front Royal the dwellings of Messrs. Hill,
| Smith, Thomas, Blackmore, Hoskins and
| others were carried off. Blackmore's house
| was torn from its foundation before his family
| consisting of himself, wife and five or six
| children could leave it. Mr.. and Mrs.
| Ridgeway, a married pair of some six weeks,
| who were spending their honeymoon with him.
! were swept away with the Inflated family.
| Rdgeway clasped his youthful bride and held
| her with all the energy of terrible despair,
| until she was ruthlessly torn from his arms by
| the driftwood in the maddened current and
| quickly consigned to watery grave. He
| was caught in the branches of large syca
| more some distance below where he saw his
| young wife disappear, and in six hours after
| wards he was rescued, in company with man
| from Page county, who occupied the top of an
| adjoining tree. Two of Blackmore's children
have since been reported saved.
| The dwelling of Mr.. and Mrs. Hoskin was
| carried off while they with their child were
| asleep and all were lost. The damage in this
| region is unprecedented and the Shenandoah
was twenty eight feet higher than in the great
| flood of 1852"
| The destruction at Harper's Ferry was ter
| rible. A writer says:
| shenandoah street, the principal business
| street of the town, running parallel to the
| river and along the base of the high eminence
on which the back part of the town is located,
| was swept from end to end, and the earth
| washed out so as to expose the underlying
| rock for yards. On the side toward the river
| not half dozen buildings remain intact, and
| and in places scattered piles of rocks mingled
| with fragments of brick alone remain to show
the location of massive dwellings standing but
| few days ago. Against the buildings which
escaped destruction are piled up huge trunks
| of trees, rafters, roofs cornstalks and miscel-
| laneous rubbish. Between the street and the
| river lie the ruins of the bridges of the Win
chester Branch Railroad. Great piers of
heavy granite blocks, hurried from their foun-
dations by the mighty torrent, lie shattered
into fragments, the heavy iron work twisted
up like shavings and lies embedded in sand
| dozen rods from its former position. The
| wood work long since went down the river.
The lower island, where thirty-two persons
were with their houses swept away, presents
a sad scene of devastation, and its soil is en-
tirely gone and nothing remains except naked
rocks and occasional deposits of sand. A
large five story mill, located on it, is stand
ing, together with the house of the owner,
though in a badly damaged condition. A
massive house, formerly a machine shop, on
this island was one of the last buildings car
ried away during the fearful hours of Friday
night. While house after house disappeared
around him the owner of this building re-
manned in it, confident of the safety of his
refuge. On Saturday morning the spectators
on the bank heard crash, and in second
every vestige of the building had disappeared
excepting the wooden roof, which foated on
the surface. Watching this as it was borne
on the bosom of the torrent, they were sur
prised to see the bald head of the venerable
owner appear at one edge, and still more to
see him vigorously Chamber upon it. He was
| rescued several miles down the river by men
| who, attracted by his cries, put out after him
in boats. resident on the upper island
named Shipes, was seen to take his wife on
his shoulder as his dwelling commenced to
totter and strike out bravely for the shore
The current swept him downward, and his
wife, in her fear, lost her hold and persisted
The husband reached land in safety but al
most crazed with excitement and grief. An
old colored man, living on Shenandoah street,
went to aid those imperilled on the upper is.
land; returning, he found his little cabin in
| ruins and daughter and child drowned. His
wife, who was swept away at the same time,
lodged in the lower branches of tree, and
was rescued after remaining several hours in
this singular position.
The damages to the Chesapeake and Ohio
canal are variously estimated at from twenty
to forty thousand dollars. Near Sandy Hook,
| Md, the river swept over its banks, destroy
| ing the right bank for considerable distance
At Point of Rocks the feeder of solid mason
ry and hundred feet of banking are gone
Breaks are also reported at other points down
the river. The repairs will occupy month
at least.
No damage has been done the main line of
the Baltimore and Ohio railroad but they are
quite heavy on the branch to Winchester. In
addition to the ravages at Harper's Ferry, be-
fore referred to, it is reported that several
bridges along the line of the road in the Shen-
andoah valley were carried away. A con-
struction train arrived here this morning, and
temporary bridges will be erected and the
road again open to travel in ten days.
The water at this point was between twen-
ty-five and thirty feet above low water mark,
higher than on the occasion of the destructive
freshet of 1852"
Dispatches say that the Baltimore ard Ohio
Railroad has sustained no damages to bridges
or the track on the main line by the late floods
and the passenger and freight trains are run
ming regularly and on time to Wheeling,
Parkersburg and the West, and also to Wash.
ington city. The only damage was on the