The Dallas weekly herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1885, 1875-04-24
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pisnsifnus fioad M fasar ftnsfits
nHfsiiHf nfr 49, 0Hf ffnnhfin Hliia.
UridHfs nfd nHiif0nI IfHsh washed
AWHt 4 ilffe fnmhef ~ ppfaDHa
fhf0uu nHi Uf rmpi0t mrni L0sa
IW1 Hundred giiDHsnnd n0iinfa
liOsfuy, Nwl N. 4 tremendous
lluud with diluslfUuH rosulla, occurred
lut evening IN the towns NJ Wron-
th1m aud Norfolk, about twenty-five
miles distant, hy the breaking away Of
the dam which ruslmins the wntor In
Wlltcn'a pond, the source Of MN
river THIS isN small river not over
twenty-five feet bruud nt low water
but running with strong current, most
/ ~ through meadow land aud empty
ing into Charles river ut Midway. At
. this time m immense body Of water
was confined In the pond 10y u dam
ubOu. one hundred feet in lCngth TT
the Wrculham aud Franklin county
road. Tho sudden bursting of the pond
through this dam hurled II tremendous
Hood on the lands below, sweeping
away mills, bridges, country roads and
dams, causing damage to the eX-
tent of two hundred thousand
dollars. Half II mile below this mill
was the saw and grist mill of the Ell
liOtt Felting company, known rs
Fishers mill. Such was the force Of
the water ON reaching here that IL
burst the foot dhm and carried along
the saw mill portion of the establish
nent, rs though IL was n toy ship. The
waters rushed ON three.fOurths of II
mile through the low lands to where
there were located the wCOlen and
shoddy mills belonging to the felting
company. Both ends Of the dam We're
washed away, and below the mills
large heap of coal, deposited for tho
use of the mills Seventy rods further
on the great dam at the Elliott c',ing
mill was met This was the ROAD from
the mills to Franklin Center, beneath
which the river runs, and which of
lered a substantial resistance to the
rushing current. The road, however,
soon yielded allowing the full force of
the water to strike against the long
dam. Meanwhile, the inhabitants of
Franklin and Wrenthan rendered val
liable assistance to the watchman at
the mills, in opening place in the
dam, hoping TO save portion OF the
same.
Their labors We're successful, and al
though fifty feet of dam was carried
away, the mills were saved.
Half mile further down was the
track of the New England and New
York road some forty or fifty feet above
the river bed. Beneath this the water
usually passed by an arched culvert,
about one hundred or one hundred and
fly feet in width. Here the waters
with seemingly increased force forced
out the stone culvert. So ffrm was the
EN- mbankment of sand above the culvert
that il stood for the space of an hour,
and then, undermined, it caved in for
the distance of one hundred to three
hundred feet formingan impassable
barrier to the waters above. When
the roadbed sank, II freight train was
within one hundred feet of the place,
though not in motion. But n great vol
ume had already passed the railroad
and hurried on to the achievement of
its greatestfeat four hundred rods be-
low, at the city cotton mill. The mill
was originally three story wooden
but latterly was enlarged by
the addition of wing on each end.
The bridges over the country road sue
cumbed and the water obtained firm
hold on the main building ana
sent it crashing to the meadows
below. So thorough was the
WOTK Oh ue'LOllIlOIl lHup thc Nupoi"
alone remained standing. The ma
and water wheel went with
the mill. The wings were left stand
ing, but so badly wrenched and under
mined that they are probably ruined
and will have to come down. Down
the stream again about half mile
was another country road bridge. This
was snapped from its foundation ana
carried away. On the level space be-
tween the road and the river, the
waters spread out and ceased their
work of destruction. The last bridge
was swept away about o'clock in the
evening. One body was swept down
on the flood, but it was supposed to be
that of man for some months MISS
ing. AS far as known no lives were
lost, but the damage to property
is very large. No houses were swept --
away, as their location on the bank
was such that the water did not reach
them. The following are the losses as
far as ascertained: Whiten's dam,
$50, 900; Elliotts mills, $50, 600; town of
Norfolk, $1,000; New York and New
railroad, $4,000; City Mills,
$4,000 to 10000. A large number of
persons are thrown out of employment
by the fall of the City Mills.