Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1889-08-01

Immense Amount Of Property It
Pl1in1eld Destroyed.
1hirty Bridges IN One County Swept
Away.-Dsavs 1sscuss but no Ltves
Lost


PLArsFiELD, N. j., July 81.
The 6fss dam 70 break in this vicinity VA
at eFitville, five miles north. The break oc
Cured at O'Clock. The rush of water car
ried away and absolutely oblitersted two
smaller dams below il At Seeley's paser mill,
causing loss of $4,000.
The water rushed down to the Scotch
Plains. completely inundating the village.
Cellars are flooded and all bridges are swept
away.
The Baptist church here WAS badly dam
aged. The old cemetery surrounding it vas
badly washed out, in many places exposing
graves
A. d Shepard's place wss completely
flooded out The Derby fur mill lost slo,-
900 in stock and machinery. The great
body OF water divided and part forced its
way for mile across the felds until il
reached Cedar Brook, . little stream running
through the eastern portion Of Piainfeld.
The brook became . river and then . lake.
A portion Of Piainieid's choicest resident
localit, is under water up to the first stories
Of the houses.
Every household has losses. The heaviest
loser here 10 Jeb Mole, mayor of the town.
who owns more than one hundred handsome
dwellings. His property was damaged TO the
amount Of 0.0O0. The property Of Leo
Daft, electrician, was badly damaged. b.
Bowers tost 5000 by damage to furniture.
James Maryin lost several valuable cows.
The rear foundation of the Park Avenue
Baptist church was washed out The build
ing is safe; damage amounts to $1,000.
Many rescues were made Of people who. be-
coming frightened attempted to leave their
houses, were caught in the flood. The
k~.,x l. ., Al I..,,
big swsth through the business portion Of
the town. as the brook which runs through
that part 10 bridged over with buildings on
Somerset street. The space underneath
WAS not sufficient to carry OF the water that
backed up into the street. Somerset street
10 sx feet under water. Marines black
smith shop and several smaller buildings
were lifted and thrown in heap into the
middle Of the street.
French's mill is undermined and stands
suspended over yswning gap. His carriage
factory is tottering, may fall. Blimms' hotel
foundations are exposed to the very bottom.
iIirsms carriage factory 10 badly damaged
and Ryerson's carriage repository damaged
$40, 600. Among the losses here are French
Bros, 5000; l.. N. French. carriage fac
tory, $1,000; Homan's carriage factory.
81 900; Blimms' hotel. 5000.
In Somerset ST., is = gully thirty feet vide
and twenty deep, the gas main is broken and
the sewer disconnected. Music hall was
damaged 81 900. the corner foundation was
washed out and the stage sunk two feet.
The breaking of Wilson's dam in Wash.
ington valley let down the immense body of
water to the dam at Watumpka Falls. Lit
tie damage was done until the masonry built
supplementary to the natural falls gave way
when q mass of water thirty feet high leaped
against the falls.
Masonry and rocks are tumbled together
and what was once a picturesque resort 10
absolutely gore. Coddington's ice houses.
barns and mills are swept away. loss $780,
900. OF ffty-two large bridges in Union
county thirty are said to be gone. involving
a loss to the county of more than $40, 900.
No lives are lost and no serious casualties
are reported. The loss of livestock 10 slight.
Altogether eight dams in Plsinfeld have been
washed away. The breaking Of the new
dam, two miles south. and one at
Cadmus Mill, caused little serious damage
other than washing out the road.