Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1879-07-16
STORM.
"Oh the direful spectacle of the wreck,
which touched every heart.''

Between the hours of 4 and 5
o'clock on Friday afternoon a violent
storm of wind, rain and hail struck
this town, and destroyed property to
an extent beyond the damage of all
previous storms known to the Oldest
inhabitant of this community, and
took the life of one person.
1t was a concentrated, "a narrow storm,
as all great storms are, and came over
the mountains as If from tie far away
northwest. When fiIst seen it APP
peared to be high from the ground,
but those who watched its approach
saw it lower into the valley as it
came near the town. Down, down it
came, and as it descended the slope
of the ridge north of Patterson it
pressed that eminence hard enough
to uproot trees. Forty apple trees
on the farm of Shelburn Robson
were uprooted, and fences thrown
down. Fruit trees on the John E.
McCrum farm We're uprooted. Trees
and fences were blown down, and a
carriage house upset, and carriage
broken to pieces ct the Samuel Val
entine place. Trees and fences along
the Muddy Run road from Pa. .erson
were uprooted and thrown down.
HAVING descended to the river, the
east branch of which it strewed
with branches and leaves from trees
on the Island. IL mrst needs strike
the town hard, for it is located high
above the stream on bluff. Its de-
structive track in the town, when it
struck the river front is not over two
hundred yards wide, anG extended
from the Presbyterian Church at the
intersection of 2Iain and North
streets to Graybills Hall at the in
tersection CT Bridge and Water
streets. Its destructive sweep was
far enough north to save the river
bridge Hal the force of the storm
been delivered two hundIel feet fur
ther south the bridge would have
been swept away.
The tin sheeting was torn off Gray
bills Hall. The facade of the river
bridge on the Miffiin side was torn
off and its material sent flying mp
Bridge street. A board from the
bridge knocked in window in the
L. Z. Parker house on the northeast
corner of Bridge and Water streets.
The fire wall and east gable end of
". w. Wilson's house ON the north
west corner of Bridge and Water
streets WAS blown out from the apex
TO the square.
The Speedy property on river
front was damaged in the roof. So
was the Noble house. Sundry other
properties northward were damaged.
A pic OF boards at Snyders chair
factory was scattered to all points of
the compass board from the Pile
was sent endwise through the out-
house of Anthony Sandoe to door
in the main building, which 1t pene-
trated at the spot where Mr. Sandoe
usually sits and which he Lad Just
left. Ii he had been there when the
board entered, doubtless he, too,
would be in the spirit land The Sny
der shop was damaged in windows,
and the engine was put out Of repairs.
The house that Mrs. Mcknight occu-
pies was 50 shaken that the plaster
ing on the west end fell off, and the
bigh chimney was toppled over down
to the roof. The property of Miss
Bell Roberts WAS damaged in roof,
and il outhouses.
Tie north side Of the storm fell
upon the Presbyterian Church with a
pi1iless blast, tearing away the entire
roof, and scattering 1t off TO the right
and left. The west gable end of the
church wall down To the square fell
in, breaking through the ceiling, and
falling on to the pulpit and choir
platform. The pulpit was broken by
the brick that fell down. The pulpit
chairs were greatly damaged, and the
whole platform was covered with
pile of brick and dried mortar. If
preaching had been going on at the
time, nothing short of a miracle
would have saved the life Of the
preacher. The organ was battered
by the falling bricks, and what would
have been the fate of the choir, had
they been there, can only be coniec
tured with a shudder The chair in
which chorister Diet.ick usually sat
had its seat broken through. The
chair occupied by the organist, Mss
Maud Irwin when not engaged ut ihe
was heaped Will dozen
of brick and mortar. Miss D!eticks
chair was the receptacle for a num-
ber of brick. Tie chair of Miss
Christy was filed with plaster. Miss
Sllie Irwin's chair contained an even
half dozen of whole bricks, and fully
A third of ton of debris from the
wall and ceiling was scattered over
the platform. A portion of tie roof
fell in the Presbyterian graveyard,
upsethug monument over the grave
of John Irwin, and breaking into two
pieces the marble slab that covers
the grave of John Harris, the man
who founded Mifiiintown. and who
was burie1 opposite the door of the
first Presbyterian church in this
place Several other tombstones
were knocked down aud broken
piece of timber from the church
roof lodged in the roof of a stable
east of the wrecked building. The
piece projected from the roof of the
stable, short distance below the
apex, at an angle of 30 degrees,
seemingly to evidence the power of
The storm to project heavy pieces of
timber One hundred feet east of
the stable portion of Che roof of the
church became a messenger of death.
md crashed through the door of the
house where Grandmother Creswell
lived. A piece of timber struck her
IN the head. The door was broken
n; the stove was thrown down, and
he plastering was crumbled from
-bo vvact x1-an ond r,ofa,. oil uplar