The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-07-30
EFFECT OF THE BIG STORM.
ITS RANGE WAS WIDE AND THE
DAMAGE VAS GREAT

Dams Burst, Bridges Carried Away, Trnmo
Was lmpeded. and Much Property Ruined.
When Thursday nights storm got through
with this part of the country It left behind II a
trail of dilapidation and distress that was more
general than any 1t has been necessary TO record
for many years. In ordinary respectable New
YORK storms. such ~ as this one started out to be.
there has always boen a ccntre, and what darn.
age was done has been confined to a particular
limited locality: but this storm took a fall
out of about everything In sight in the vicinity
OF New York. 1t caused reservoirs to break; 10
Knocked out the sewers, IL turned innocent
creeks into raging torrents, and streets into
flowing rivers; II washed out cellars and flooded
railroads, washed Town railroad embellishments,
and did about everything disreputable that ID
could do.
The SUN told yesterday a great deal about
this storm. but there was a great deal IL didn't
tell, because everywhere around New York the
people were 80 busy fighting the water that they
hadn't time to report their troubles. The
people Of Elizabeth. N. j.. found, when they
had time to count up their losses. that
their share OF the storm had cost them not less
than 100000. Broad street, the principal busi-
ness thoroughfare. had been flooded in oome
places to a depth Of ten feet, and 1t was
noon yesterday before some merchants
gained entrance to their stores. When
they did get in they found their stocks
ruined. Among the merchants who SUI.
fered heavy damage were Edwards & King,
LOCKER & Fords, s. W. Whitehead. L. b. Dsy.
Elizabeth Hardware Company. J. l.. Prcschucr.
and ]. +. Rogers. Tho stores run by these folks
looked as II they had each and every one been
the centre OF q raging tide. Goods were piled
up everywhere and smashed and broken. In
one place barrels of oil had been bursted by the
DrrSSura Of tina water Tho ri,o ,oO,,
OF Clark's Hotel in Elizabeth looked
as II it had been on a spree. Almost
every bottle in it had been broken and the wine
was gone, The Elizabeth merchants declared
that the cause OF the flood In their town was tho
depression OF the streets at the crossings Of tho
New Jersey Central Railroad. The crossings
used to be at grade. About two years ago the
streets wero depressed, and these dcpressions
became deep gullies. where the tallest and
strongest man in Elizabeth would have been
drowned IL he had been caught.
Besides the damage in the city proper. there
was great damage along the Elizabeth River.
Barns were swept from their ioundat ions, a mill
vas so badly wrecked that It will have to DO
torn down, and a number OF houses we're lifted
from th-ir foundations and tioated off several
feet, while the families who lived il them
were rescued on RATS. 4 part OF the
damage along the river was due to a Jam
oI uHnDer ~ inc oOutn street DrlGge. The lum-
Der had foatcd from nearby lumber yards. 10
took a large number Of workmen all DAY yester-
day to break the jam. The water in the river was
still running very swiftly late in the afternoon.
A boy tumbled in near tho jam and was Car
rfed down the stream. He would have beoa
drowned, but Thomas Fox plunged in after him
end succeed cd IN getting Lin out. Besides the
damaged done 10 stores and houses the sidewalks
all over the city were undermined in Spots.
There was a washout on tho Pennsylvania rail-
road and a landslide on the New Jersey Cen
trail. Freight traffic was delayed for hours
on both roads, and it was late In the afternoon
before things were running on time. The OBJ
server at the Government station in Elizabeth
declared that the total rainfall during the eight
hours that the rain lasted was $40 inches.
which broke The record; i started in to rain
Jersey City's share of the storm flooded every
cellar in the lower part OF the city. The high
every manhole became a gusher. Bachelors
and beer saloons had TO be abandoned,
feet high. The district that lies 1T the
foot OF that part OF the city called the Hill get
and most Of tho district was turned into a lake,
in which there was from four 10 five feet OF
The West Shore freight depot is in the middle
Of this lake. When the men who work there
got out to it yesterday they found everything
f nSSU OF t6 ssf iii the inS S sstS; was VA ss sc G daep up pI to l .ss
night that tho floors OF the street cars wero
the lines. In some paris Of lower Jersey city
the people who live in basement houses had 10
move all their furniture upstairs.
Out in Plainfeld the tremendous fall OF water
caused the dam OF the PIainde'd lcr ana Cold
Storage COMPANY at W"sh!ns!onyiile TO col.
deep came thunderins down, into Stony Brook.
The brook wasn't able TO hold II ana all the sur
rounding country was inundated. A little whilo
after this u dam al the Hu~llingsworth Paper Mill
in Green Brook gave WY, md the water from
Of the foundation OF the paper mill was swept
away. Houses along the brook were damaged
In New brunswick the Raritan River rose
above its banks; and all Of the lower part OF tho
room Of the United states Rubber Company
and put out the fires. also got into The cci-
Company and the Johnson S johnson tchemieA
factory. All Of these concerns were shut down
Yesterday, 4 number Of bridges near Milltowa
into town. The Rarltan River overran Inc
tracks OF the Rar!tan River Railroad betwoes
trains had TO stop running until late yesterday
Near the landing bridge in New Brunswick n
man md a team of horses were washed away
when they tried TO cross the bridge. but they
The dam at EgSeris' mills. five miles from
New brunsTiSk. gaye way Under ne prfssa.e
away and they bumped against a four h. across
which Mrs. Newell Ticks, q farmers wife, was
ula AhE WIN - iNt.iNN a'lA ma "a ~ 49, ~ pshA'a
her party were half way across lie bridge whea
the thrrO other bridges bumped against 1t. IL
stood the strain n moment and then collapsed.
Mrs. Hicks he t"o boys, and tie horse ana car.
:iage were cropped into the stream. Mrs. Hicks
SWAN TO Ne nearest bank. The son n,d
nephew woIs Missing. she could hear hen. call
Ing. They had caught hold OF the side Of tho
buggy, whiCi, 't tecu.ne wed god ia some d6bTts.
Mrs Hicks : ... out in the direction that sho
heard the so r".r he reached the buggy and
stayed there h,lp came. she VAS ARD
10 try 70 got t.... rpE TIL" buys ashore. Henry
DAVIS, Will. J ,ls.Ecr and AlDnTo Smith
heard her call E| u'lp and managed TO rescue
tho entire pari IA tho ana o. rop6s.
AT Railway o.. mlCTpf onlIuuses were swept
away and IA nn.. rr OF %Ct)ries were Hooded
and inachinefy tDrth scyeral thousand dollars
was damaged. Two bridges over the RaritSn
River were washed WAY.
The valley OF he Rsriinn in the rcighborhond
Of Somervilc Was Hooded, he : Yer rising 70 .lo
level OF the RArltHE Canal banks. These
banks had stood the test Of Hoods for
fifty years. but this one was too much
for them. and they were washed out. tho
water from the canal joining thar from he river.
All the farms round about were inundated, IN
| Cludin that Of James B, Duke, tho tobacco man.
The roads leading 10 nearly towns were under