The Tipton advertiser. [volume] (Tipton, Cedar Co., Iowa) 1856-1962, 1874-05-21

~ rebuilt within the last two wears.
Above this was the new dam. built
last wear. The dam on the Conway
branch is about six or seven " ars old
Williamsburg and Haydenvilie are
somewhat exposed to damage by a
break, but Leeds more 50. as the rlv-
er there runs about one hundred
wards wide. between two lofty and
abrupt eminences. To enhance the
danger to lie and property, a dam,
reaching to the height of the roof OF
the houses. interrupts the flow.
At Williamsburg, a factory and
tweltv-seyen houses We're blotted
out: at Haydenville, a factory, a gas
house, cotton mill, bank, and OF e
hundred dwellings; at Leeds, hut
ton factory. and two hundred and
twenty-five buildings; at Sklnnervil'e,
every house is gone except Mr.. Skin
ner's own. Such houses as are here
set down as gone are utterly van
ished and distributed in shreds, not a
piece over six feet long, over miles of
county. The Licking Water river. !"
A. they call it, has been sea, and is
now trickling stream lost in miles
81 mud. The lake hemmed up by
defective masonry among the Gosh
an hills, has done its work terribly.
The latest figures of the loss Of life
BY the breaking of the Williamsburg
resery DIR make total of one hundred
and forty-four, divided as follows be-
tween the three places: Williams
burgh. sixty, Leeds, fortv-nine: Hay
dentille. thirty-fiye. These figures
only represent persons whose loss is
positively known, though the bodies
vi are not vet recovered. Bodies
are constantly being found, and, IN
some cases, those Of persons who
were not supposed to be lost, so that
il seems perfectly safe to say that the
total loss OF life will exceed one hun
bred and fifty, il. indeed, it does not
more nearly approach two hundred.
Il is utterly impossible as yet to
detailed estimate Of the losses
Aside from the buildings DESTROYED
and damaged, bridges have been car
ricd away, roads ruined, and hundreds
Of acres Of meadowlana rendered al.
most valueless.
The total loss must far exceed one
million dollars. and will probably
come nearer two million dollars The
following is general estimate of los
ses by places: In Williamsburg
W. II. Avoniss' Touring mill, swept
away. $4,000: II. l.. James mill,
damaged and left standing without
water power, 100000; houses, barns,
etc, gone, $4,000.
At Skinnerville-W William Skin
ncr's silk factory and twelve tenement
houses DESTROYED, $4,000 other
houses and barns. $4,000.
AT Haydenville- HAYDEN, Gere &
Cos brass works, savings bank, build,
ings and tenements swept away, $3.50, :
900: HAYDEN Tobacco Co., mill Car.
RED off, s. 900; HAYDEN Foundry ane
and Machine Co.'S works, dam ged
I $1,000; other houses and stores, $50,
4 90; gas works, $4,000.
At Leeds -Nonotuck Silk CO.:
dam broken, and several building.
carried away, So, 900; Geo. +. War
ner's button factory DESTROYED anc
three tenements, 100000 Other
houses, barns, etc, $4,000.
At Northampton Emery Vince
Co, damaged, $4,000.
At F'lorence-The Florence Manu-
featuring Co.'S brush factory. damage
to stock, $4,000; Nonotuck Silk Go i
silk mill, partially torn away and stock
damaged, $4,000.
The damage to the town Of VII.
liamsburg by the loss Of bridges,g great
destruction of roads, and complete
ruins of its best meadow lands, is at
present incalculable, but it is such as
to seriously cripple the town. Three
iron bridges were carried away. In
the village of Williamsburg, one
wooden and two iron bridges; in the
village of Leeds, one bridge: and in
the village Of Florence, one iron and
two wooden bridges were swept away.
II was not far from s o'clock when
the first symptoms of the break were
discovered by the Waterman in charge
of the dam. These consisted OF a
small leak through he lower embank-
ment 10 the direction Of Williams
burgh At the first the wa,chman
thought little or nothing OF it the cir
cums,ance, but at lengl h the gap be-
gan 10 widen and he very properly
became alarmed and fastened t. NJ.
tify the inhabitants in the village te-
low He started at run for Will
liarnsburg, which was less than two
miles distant, but long before he had
got there the whole embankment gave
way and the stream Of terror, death,
and destruction, was there ahead Of
him; he had to take refuge upon
neighboting hin to save his own life,
and thus became an agonlzed and
helpless witness of calamity which
he tad done all in his power TO avert,
The rush Of the waters and the fear
and CONSERVATION which ensued
among the terrified citizens were most
heartr"nder!ng TO witness. The food
came witout the slightest warning,
save heavy rumbling not unlike
thunder. or the sound of heady train
passing over covered railroad
bridge. Almost in moment the tor
rents swept successfully through the
villages Of SkinnervllIe, Williamsburg,
Hay1envillc, and Leeds, the three
first named hamlets being about three
quarters of a mile apart, and the lat
ter about two miles below Hayden
vile.
To those who saw the terribl. VOL
ume approaching, it looked in the dis
tance as If terrible fire was sweep.
ing across the country. The spray,
or foam, had the appearance of heavy,
black smoke, and the deception wa
SO complete in the village Of Hay en-.
vile the frc-bells were ringing 70.
a few minutes before the devas ating
food struck the town,