Morning journal and courier., 1888-02-22
n1e rnEsHEr ArPALmER.
Much Damage Dome tO Property bv Hc
 and Flood.

1 and Flood.
 l PALMER, Mass, Feb. 21.-The worst freshet | in the annals of this section of western Mas l sachusetts occurred last night, resulting in i much damage to property. The rivers in ! this town upon which the different industries I are dependent for power have been clogged | with huge cakes of ice, while water has risen I rapidly until last night. when the banks of l the Qualboag river were overhown causing great inundation and destruction. Gangs of ! workmen have been employed all day in pro- tecting property and repairing damage that has already resulted. Very little headway could be made, however, in this respect until late this afternoon when the food began to subside. The shoddy mill owned by J. H. Smith 6 Go. located in the vicinity of Fay's
 bridge on the Monson road is badly damaged.
 An ice jam tore down the brick walls of the
 dye house and boiler room and did destruc-
 tive work upen the interior, while the
 water stands upon the floor of the
 factory five feet deep. Travel to
 Menson is impeded near Fay's bridge
 where portion of the thoroughfare is
 washed away. Great damage has been done
 to fruit trees. Ice jams have blockaded near
 ly all of the main public thoroughfares lead
 ing out of town. The cellar of the Union
 passenger station where the Boston and AL
 bany, New London and Northern and Ware
 River reads center contained five feet of wa-
 ter this morning, resulting in the washing
 away of the floor, extinguishing the fires in
 the boiler and damaging the gasometer be-
 sides destroying the contents. The bridges
 at Three Rivers have been weakened, while
 the pump house of the Palmer Wire
 Manufacturing company contains quantity
 of water. One pier under the Burleigh
 bridge has been partially washed away as
 has also part of the stone pier under the
 Boston and Albany bridge, but the bridges
 have been repaired so trains can pass over
 them by running slowly. The damage
 at the factory of J. s. Holden & Go. where a large number of men will be thrown out of work cannot be ascertained for sev-
 eral days. Since noon the water iu the hill has lowered considerably. No northern trains have been run over the New London and Northern to-day on account of the bridge being swept away and up to noon there was no way of transferring passengers around the washout as either thoroughfare going south was rendered impossible. To- night the water has subsided so as to allow teams to pass in Commercial street and passengers have to be driven four miles to Aonson where passage can be obtained far as Norwich where another washout has made the tracks inn passable At North Wilbraham much dam age has been done. The grain elevator of Cutler 6 Co., contains considerable water, while a dam near the factory of Stillman Ellis has been partially swept away. No fears are entertained that further damage will result as the flood is gradually lowering and the mammoth ice jams in Quaboag are being removed as rapidly as possible. The tracks of the Athol branch road were washed SO that trains could not pass over them this morning, but this afternoon they have been making nearly schedule time. Trains on roads centering here, except the New Lon don and Northern, will undoubtedly make schedule time tomorrow. The aggregate loss on property will amount to over $2e,- 900 at the least estimate.