The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1895-03-08
Ports Annual Ice Gorge.


weather sets in, the ice gorge and
flood made it's appearance on Sun
day. The ice gave way with the
rise of the river above and came
down to lodge and pile up across
the river opposite the town. The
drift stopped above the depot about
eleven o'clock in the forenoon and
soon formed a dam and the rising
water ran through the street tumbl-
ing small houses and fences over
from Rock Run to the railroad
depot. The water rose round the
Presbyterian church where service
was being held and the congrega-
ton had to make their way out
through the windows.
The destruction to property has
been as great as any previous year.
The water rose fifteen feet, but by
night it fell to a level with the
wharves and remained until morn
ing. The ice was piled entirely
across the river from ten to thirty
feet high. At noon on Monday
the news came that a gorge twenty
miles above had broken and would
reach Port Deposit in an hour and
a half. By 2 O'Clock it came and
the water began to rise. 1t broke
through the barricade across the
river a Olt the middle and finally
the whole volume of ice moved and
the water in one mighty volume
rose over streets and into houses.
1t continued to rise until O'Clock
when it reached a point nearly as
high as in 1886. Even those living
on the upper side of the street
moved things to the upper floors.
AT 3 O'Clock the water reached
its highest point of about twenty
feet. Shortly after it began to fall
and pass out by small channel
about the middle of the river. The
weather Monday evening and night
blew up quite cold and the water
left the streets piled with ice.
The Rowland Manufacturing
Company has sustained heavy
losses. Their planning mill, with
valuable machinery, has been
seriously injured as well as the
lumber. Their loss will be thous
ands Of dollars. All the back
fences and back buildings to houses
on the lower side of the street have
been swept away and the aggre-
gate loss will reach $4,000. The
warehouses of Jacob Tome and
Davis & Pugh have been injured.
The granite quarries of McClena-
han & Bro. were filled with water,
and it will cost considerable to
pump them out.
One of the heaviest losers will be
the railroad company. The station
and tracks are badly injured. The
station had to be vacated and the
telegraph Office was moved to the
Office of McClenahan & Bro.
From Rock Run to Heckert IS
hollow the ice is piled on the track
most of the distance.
All trains cease running on the
Columbia and Port Deposit rail
road, the trains on the Penn. divi-
sion running no further than
Octoraro junction on Monday morn
ing. All mail matter below Port
Deposit was sent round by Phila
delphia.
The public school and Tome
Institute were closed. The public
school house was so flooded Sunday
that the fires were put out, but the
institute has not been injured, al,
though few inches more and the
water would have entered the lower
floor, where the furnaces and
manual training department are
situated. This would have caused
a heavy loss.
The cold wave of Monday night
and Tuesday stopped further rise
in the river, but there were heavy
gOrges above waiting the next thaw
to be precipitated on the town if
the ice below remained unbroken.
The Western Union telegraph
and electric light wires along the
street are badly damaged. Many
telegraph poles are twisted and out
of place. The cross arms are torn
off and the wires broken.
On Wednesday the trains ran as
far down as Rock Run and COM
munication between the lower and
upper section was made on foot. A
large gang of Italians were put to
work cleaning the ice from the
tracks and if no more gorges inter
fere the company expect to have
the tracks in condition to resume
regular through trips before Satur-
day night. Danger from heavy
gorges from above still threatened
the channel through which the ice
passed out was near the middle of
the river and about halfa mile wide.
On Wednesday night the greatest
of the danger was considered past.
The Baltimore mail came through
on the Columbia and Port Deposit
and the Baltimore Central railroad
on Thursday morning, being trans
Dortad from the deDOt at Port Do