The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1876-09-23
The Great Centennial Storm.

1t would take half side of our paper tc
report all the damage done by the terrific
storm of Sunday. That it was terrific. all
our readers from actual experience know.
We will only attempt to give synopsis of
the damage done.
Hundreds of trees were Frustrated; the
streets were almost impossible. This is the
least of the wreck. The bone mill of Messrs.
Scott & Bro. was unroofed, and consid-
cradle portion of the wall carried away.
On their yard considerable quantity of
wood was carried away and much of their
stock of bone washed off. Their loss will
approximate $500. The water entered the
cellar of Reese's store and washed out a
quantity of sugar and salt. The boat house
of DR.. II. G. Register was lifted from it's
foundation and laid upon it's side. 1nnu-
merable signs along Main street were blown
away. The chimneys of the residences of
VIM. and II. r. Torbert were blown down.
The gas house was flooded, and Elkton was
left in the dark for three nights. AT the
residence Of MIR. Atkinson, on Main street.
large silver maple was uprooted, taking
the entire front yard with it. This was a
novel sight; the flower pots and boxes
the ground while in this position. A tin
chimney cover, from nobody knows were,
came sailing through the air and alghted
in Main street.
A porch in front of Mr.. G. Witworth' S
provision store, North street, was also torn
down. Altogether, no such storm has ever
been known by our oldest inhabitant, and
no such general devastation has ever been
experienced.
OUT OF TOWN.
The ice house of Mr.. Jacob A. Howard
was partly demolished. A barn on the
farm of Mr.. Tobias Rudolph was blown
down. A barn on the Barr farm, two
miles from town, was leveled. On J. C.
Woolley's place, near North East, the barn
was blown down. On the farm tenanted
by Howard Arrison, below North East, on
the river his corn field was completely COW
cred with debris, so that his crop will be
an entire loss. Nearly all the ice houses on
the Susquehanna river were demolished.
At Mr.. George p. Whitaker, Principle, a
tree fell upon a hog, killing it. In Charles
town the porch was blown off the Cecil
House.
On the farm of l. Z, Ceilings, in Elk
Neck, one hundred apple trees were blown
down; all his outbuildngs, shedding, ETC.,
were carried away.
All of the fish houses at Stackhouse' S
shore were carried away.
In the upper part of the county the storm
was fully as heavy. Much damage is re-
ported; it is, however, generally to timber
and orchards.
At Joseph England's, in the 9th district.
falling tree struck and killed 4 valuable
bull.
Band-box Hollow, near Woodlawn, was
entirely submerged and heavy loss expert
enced by all residents.
At Port Deposit much damage was done.
On Saturday night twelve canal boats,
loaded with coal, which were taken in tow
at Havre de Grace by the steamer Juniata,
for Baltimore, broke loose from the tow
during the gale and all were lost, and five
men, two women and a child were proba-
bly, drowned. The Junidtd, with her tow,
left Havre de Grace at 5 P. NJ. They met
| the gale after leaving the Susquehanna
| river, and between Turkey Point and
Pooles Island, about 8 o'clock, all but
| three of the boats broke loose, were dashed
helplessly about by the waves and were
sunk or beached and filled. The other
| three boats held on to the JunidtG until
Poole's Island was passed, when at mid
night one of the canal boats began to sink
and the hawser which held her was cut.
The Juniata held on to the Process, one of
the canal boats, and anchored her under
Poole's Island. The steamer picked up
the Emily d. Kennedy, another of the
boats, and tied her to the PROCESS, and the
Juniata anchored near them until daylight
| Sunday. She then tried to take hold of
them, but they again broke loose and were
carried by the waves over towards the
mouth Of the Gunpowder, where they
beached and filled.
Ten of the canal boats belonged to the
| Pennsylvania Canal Company, and the
other two to the Reading Company, and
all were loaded with coal at different points
along the canal in Pennsylvania, including
Columbia, Nanticoke, etc. There were
thirty-two persons on all the boats, of
whom twenty three were saved with diff
Guilty, and were brought to Baltimore on
| the Juniata, and the other eight are all
believed to have been lost. OF those lost
were George Hook, aged &c, wife and little
! girl three years old, belonging to Balti-
! more, who were on one of the Reading
boats; young man, name unknown, be-
| longing to Lancaster, Pa, who went on
the boat at Havre de Grace driver, and
young woman, only known as Jennie,
about 90 years old, from Lock Haven, Pa.
cry for help when the boat sank and left
them struggling in the water, and there is
| little doubt they, the two women and the
child were drowned at that time. Two
men were missing from the Pennsylvania
| Company's boat No. >, names not given,
and Thomas A. Reese, of Pottsgrove, Pa,
from another boat, making eight in all.
| The fury of the storm rendered any assist
| ance to them impossible.
At Zion and neighborhood, the storm
was severe and destructive. A number of
| shade trees in the village were blown down.
| At the residence of John Carhart, ten OF
twelve large pear and several apple trees
were Frustrated and number of shade
trees in the lawn suffered the same fate,
two or three falling on the dwelling. The
uncut corn suffered greatly.
At the residence of the Misses Mearns,
near Zion, number of trees were blown
down, two or three falling upon the dwell
| ing.
At Wilson Persons, near Brick Meeting
| House, large number of shade and fruit
trees were uprooted.
Over the whole reighborhood trees have
succumbed to the terrific blast, the corn is
greatly damaged by being FRUSTRATED flat
upon the ground and covered with mud.
| Injury was also doue to numerous build
ings.
The bridge over Elk Creek, near Rocl;
Presbyterian church, was seriously twisted.
A brick school house, in New Castle
county, Del, near the Chester county line,
was completely demolished.
County Commissioners.
The Board of County Commissioners