Johnstown weekly Democrat. (Johnstown, Cambria County, Pa.) 1889-1916, 1890-04-11
TURBULENT WATERS.

Places About the Cify-The WOOdvale
and Cambria Bridges 90 Down Stream
Part of the City Inundated.
The heavy rain storm that set in on
Tuesday night about 10 ocl ok and con-
tinued, with few short Interruptions,
during the whole night and the next fore
noon, caused an unusual rise in our rivers.
The first signs of rapid rise in the rivers
came shortly after daylight. At o'clock
The Stonycreek was eight feet. At 10
O'Clock it was nearly ten feet, and people
were beginning to feel uneasy, as the rain
was still pouring. The Conemaugh was
even worse, and at 10 O'Clock the bank
back of the company offices was more
than full. At the stone bridge the street
was beginning to be covered. The Cone
maugh was rising more than foot an
hour. 1t leaped and roared as it hardly
ever done before.
A section OF the wall along the Stony
creek above the Franklin street bridge,
in the rear of Mr.. Ed. Briber's house fell
into the river early in the morning. The
yard as far as the house went with the
wall. This made some people timId par
ticnlarly the dwellers of the houses along
that part of the Stonycreek.
THE FLOOD IN wooDvALE.
The Eleventh ward was early seen TO
be in danger About 10 O'Clock the water
got so high that it overfowed the levee
along the upper edge of that ward. The
surface of the river was three feet above
the upper parts of the town, and of course
when the water began to overflow it soon
cut the bank away. Then the water
made highway just where it pleased,
causing :he people to leave their houses
1t entered the lower floors of few, and
even swept the supports away from be-
| meath some of the Oklahomas. They
were the worst off, as there was no sec
ond story. The river kept getting higher
and by evening, it is said, but one family,
| that of Adam Roidle, remained on the
flat south of the P. r. r.
ALONG THE oONEMAUGH.
All along the Conemaugh Valley as far
| up as Wilmore, where the Campmeetng
ground was all flooded the river was more
than bank full, most of the way between
Wilmore and Summerhill the water spread
over all the flats from one hill to the
other. At Summerhill the new county
bridge in course of construction was taken
away. Some of the iron was lost. This
is the bridge that was lost in the flood of
May 81, 1889. 1t seems to be in hard luck.
A short distance east of bridge No. 6,
the north track of the Pennsylvania Rail
road went into the river in the afternoon.
At this point the flood had obliteratGd the
rOadbed and it had since been rebuilt.
At bridge No. 6 no damage was done, al
though many were timid about the safety
of the trestle work.
The bridge between the Tenth and
Eleventh wards lost section and the tor
rent was too much for the Cambria bridge,
which yielded also. At Mineral Point the
temporary wagon bridge was damaged,
THE SHOPS AND MILLS CLOSED.
Parts of the Gautier shops were early
flooded and work was stopped. The Steel
Works also shut down in the afternoon, as
were also several other of the departments
at the lower works.
WORTHWHILE ALARMED.
St. Clair Reservoir was thought to be
in danger on Tuesday night, and the
people of Morrellville were notified about
2 o'clock. Many of them went to the
higher grounds. However, the alarm
proved to be groundless, for the reservoir
did not overflow, the water not coming
nearer than eighteen inches of the top of
the breast.
On Washington street the waters from
the Conemaugh had their own way below
Market to the Lincoln bridge. All the
city in the vicinity of Pearl street was
flooded.
The Gas Works were unable to supply
their customers last night on account of
the interference of the water.