Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1871-12-06
EXCITEMENT AT HYDE PARK. PENN.
A Portion of the City Sinking into Il
Coal Mine Many Buildings DAM
aged.

Portion of the City Sinking into
Coal Many Buildings Dam
aged.
SCRANTON, Nov 16.-Hyde Park has
again been visited by one of those ca
tastrophes peculiar to mining regions.
About 3 o'clock this morning the citi-
zens of that portion of the city lying
south of Main street, and III the neigh
borhood of Scranton avenue, were
startled from their slumbers by rum
bling crashing noise, and the trembling
of the earth and their buildings, as if
by an earthquake. So violent were the
shocks and so loud the noise, that they
fed terror stricken from their dwell
ings. After the first paroxysm of fright
had passed the cause of the terrible
alarm became apparent. The mines of
the first vein of the Oxford shaft had
given away, causing the earth to settle
some two feet, and causing great cracks
in the surface. The area of ground,
which is thickly covered with build
ings and handsome dwellings,, is about
20 acres, extending from Main street at
point west of the Welsh Calvinistic
Church running diagonally north east
to Chestnut street. This boundary of
the fall is marked by crack which va
ries in width and depth
The crack passing through the front
yard of the Welsh Calvanistic Church
goes through the dwelling and store of
Mr. Thomas Phillips, Herman's Hotel,
and the adjoining property, breaking
their walls and rocking the buildings
from cellar to garrett Crossing Scran-
ton avenue, it crosses the corner of
Fellows Hall building, breaking open
the foundation walls and causing
large opening ID the brick wall, and III
fact injuring the entire building. From
this point it runs in an easterly direc-
t1on, through the property of DR.
Heath, Daniel Howell, D. t. Richards,
Esquire Snyder, and others, to Chest
nut street, thence diagonally to Scran-
ton avenue, where tracks of the fall are
lost. But the effects of the fall are
still visible in the settling of the earth
about Mr. Herman's residence and
other dwellings, between this point and
the place from which we first started
In all of the buildings, and particu-
larly those of Messrs. Philips, Richards.
Howell, and the hotel and Fellows Hall,
are the destructive effects of this disas-
ter most clearly visible, as hardly any
part of them remains uninjured. Walls
and ceilings broken, floors sunken,
windows broken, wainscoting torn
loose, while cisterns, wells, and cellars
have literally lost their bottoms, caus-
ing destruction of property amount
ing to $4,000.
There were three distinct shocks, each
one loud enough to arouse everybody,
In a few minutes Main street was
crowded with men, women and children
who were greatly frightened When
the residence of Mr.. D. I. Richards
was shaken, the family was obliged to
flee IL order to save their lives so great
was the destruction that the house
must be rebuilt. The Hermans House
is so badly damaged that it must be
torn down The Post Office has sunk
some eighteen inches and still continues
settling. A large cistern in the kitchen
of Daal Howell was pierced, and is now
dry. In fact, not a drop of water can
be had IN any cistern in any part of the
injured portion The houses of J. Fl.
Millspaugh, William Price, Judge w.
G. Ward, S. Mears, and Mr. Ashby
were also badly damaged. That of E.
Hermans settled down eighteen inches
below the surface, but otherwisei is COM
paratively uninjured.
The Oxford shaft is situated in the
center of the Hyde Park, and is the
property of the Delaware, Lackawanna
and Western Company, having been
purchased by them in 1868 from Sci
den, Scranton & Co. The vein which
caused such terrible scare this morn
ing IS known as the Diamond vein, and
has not been worked by the Delaware,
Lackawanna and Western Company.
On that ground they claim that no dam
age will be paid, and if the losers will
insist, the former owners must bear the
orunt. The fall which occurred some
four years ago in another portion of
Hyde Park, at which time so much
damage was done, was not near so dis
astroas in it's results.