Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1873-05-20
Disastrous Flood. !.


by the recent heavy rains, .intthat town and
vicinity -omitting a few minor items of dams
ages: u I
The extraordinary. rain fall Of the past few
days, which had thoroughly Saturated the
earth aud filed the streams, induced the be-
lief with many of our people that a heavy
shower, falling suddenly, would prove disas>
trous.a These apprehensiouswere Justified on
Saturday night, when the storm clouds which
had been gathering for several hours burst
upon US with, almost unparalleled severity.-
The rain, which was accompanied BY 7terrific
thunder and lightning, began to fall about
81 p. NJ, aod'in an hour thereafter Main
and Water streets were flooded Nearly
every cellar on Water street, and many of
those on Main, near the run, were filled and
IN some cases the water covered the sidewalks
and ran into the doors of stores and dwell
lings. causing considerable damage to mer-
chandise and furniture and unfortunately
some of the heaviest losers were citizens who
are least able to afford it. =
An Idea of the volume of water which
rushed through our streets may he obtained
by visit to Messrs. Allen and McKericher's
gardens, which are almost totally ruined, and
an inspection of the turnpike above the Town
Spring, where Che water from the adjacent
hills forced an outlet, sweeping away heavy
stone walls and tearing up tho road bed in
its course.
The Messrs. Steele's lower gardens We're not
damaged. They suffer some loss, however,
in the way of trees and fencing destroyed.
Edward q. Bruce lost his stock of provi-
sions, and whatever was stored in the base
ment"f his dwelling. His garden<wa also
overlooked.
~
Cornelius kiger lost his growing crop of
vegetables, on the corner lot opposite Col.
Denny's. -
All the residents of Water street, we be-
love, lost such of the contents of their cellars
as were destructihle by water.
-Fanfkner'iE Sons, on the corner of Main
and Water, are heavy losers, having MANY
heavy boxes and barrels in their cellar, which
they were unable to remove before the food
came upon them. Their loss will probably
amount to six or seven hundred dollars.
Rutus q. Barker. ci gar maker, nearly Cd.
posite Faulkner's, had nearly four hundred
dollars worth of fine leaf tobacco rendered
worthless by the overflow of his cellar.
The guests at Grim's Hotel wore on short
ra att Sunday, the water having invaded the
larder. =
Rev. Mr.. Carson, of che NJ. r. Church
South, had literally taken no care for the
morrow, and had to depend upon the charity
of his more fortunate neighbors for his breaks
fast. We presume he was not neglected, as
his sermons were such as might be expected
from man in good physical and mental con-
dition. - :" -. =,
The tanners, as usual, had to bear their full
share of the trouble. Mr.. Sidwel had a very
large stock on hand. We believe none of i.
mo had L,,k.
1000 would mot repair the damage to his
stock and premises.
Mr.. Hollis estimates his necuniary loss at
about $50, besides that Of time and labor.
Many persons were absent from their homes
or'places of business when the flood came on
and the effort to reach their, dwellings, or
stores Incurred considerable risk to saw moth
ing of the discomfort, aid difficulty of wadinc
waist deep in "a rushing torrent of cold water
We'havc Heard of one or two instances where.
had NOT assistance been at hand, persons must
have lost their lives
Wo are told that no such food has occur
red in Winchester for eighteen wears and
we are Sure that our people will join US in the
wish that another may not occur for at least
an equal length Of time
En- the Round Hill neighhorhood the flood
was unprecedented Much fencing has been
destroyed, and the land injured to q consid-
cradle extent by washing, particularly on DIR.
Jno s. Lupton's places, and the adjoining
farms.
Mr.. Haw kins' blacksmith and Wagon, makers
shops, on the Rorinay road, were swept away.
His loss will probably reach $500.
Harrison Bavliss los. all his provisions in
c'ndins2 900 lbs: of bacon, and large guam
tlty OF lard. beef. canned fruit, preserves. &C.,
rph oh
premises. Mr.. b. had not enough provision
left to make breakfast for his family on
Sunday morning.
On E. S. Bakers farm spring house which
had stood unframed by freshet5 for seventy
years, was demolished
The only damage to the railroad, 80 far as
we have been able to learn, occurred at Bar
louisville, the iron bridge at that point being
partially washed away. Our townsman, II.
V: Willis. engineer on s'No. ~ freight nars
rowly missed wrecking his train ct this point.
A citizen, whose name we have not learned,
gave him warning, but he only succeeded in
stopping his train within forty feet of the
chasm. - -
The mill dam at Bar,onsvillc' was broken,
and uck's, or Neill's dam, was also DESTROYED.
The water thus released rushed down toward
Milton Peery's mill with Overwhelming force,
carrying way everything movable in its course.
The west wall of the stone blacksmith shop,
on the turnpike, was demolished, the turnpike
bridge destroyed, and scarcely panel of fence
left to mark where an enclosure had been-
Mr.. Peery estimates his loss at 81 900.
= Mingo Walker, colored man residing on
James Carr Bakers farm, becoming alarmed,
left his house with his wife and child, iutendI
ing to convey them to place of safety but
in the effort to escape both woman child we're
drowned. Fad they remained in their house
they would have been safe.~ This is the only
instance of loss Of human life of which we
have heard.
Every mill dam on the Opequon so far as
we have been able to ascertain, has been de-
streyed... .....,,
, Ho FOR THE N sTRopoLyrAN. The head