Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1899-07-13
SUNDAYS BIG STORM
knocks Out tho street Car Lines, Floods
cellars and Docs Much damage

A storm which has not been equaled in
severity in years visited this section sun
day shortly after noon and in a little
over an hours time did many hundred
dollars of damage to streets and goods IN
cellars. The rain fell in torrents and rush
ed down the streets toward the lake with
such volume as to remove the heavy sew
er manhole covers and clean the streets
to the stone bottoms. The streets lead
ing to the lake below Church street are
badly damaged. Many cellars were food
ed and in large number of cases the wa
ter set back into first floors, where con-
siderable damage was done. The street
car lines were crippled by the flooding OF
the power house in the Winooski FIGURING
mill, where the water from the Winooski
hill stopped up the sewer basin and rush.
ed down into the basement, where the dy-
namos were located. The water reached
the great belt used in generating power
and ruined ii. The damage was SO great
that the plant was shut down for hours
and the street car service ceased during
that time AS soon possible the steam
auxiliary plant was started end the cars
operated by this means. On the lower road
the street car tracks were consider a bly,
washed and near the brick yard and at
Athletic Park there was serious damage
In two places poles We're washed out and
the wires were down. The Essex cars were
placed in operation over the hill and ran
through to Essex, the road at that end of
the line being only slightly dana yed.
The most serious damage in this city
outside that to streets and railroads was
at the carpet department of the Richard
son and in the advertising and shipping
rooms of the Wells & Richardson com
pany. At the Richardson the water set
back from the sewers to the basement
where the stock OF the carpet depart
mcnt operated by w. c. Reynolds is To-
tai In,, e.
depth of several inches Many of the cost-
y carpets, rugs curtains and other goods
were badly damaged and q large fOrce Of
men were put at work to clear the base
ment and get the goods in a place where
they would receive the least damage. At
Wells x Richardson the water set back
from sewers to the closets and spouted
forth in small geysers. Men with brooms
were put at work sweeping the water
outside and old newspapers, sawdust and
other available things were used to soak
it up.
| During the storm electric wires crossing
the Winooski bridge became loosened 50
that the current was communicated to the
bridge and those who crossed it during
the brief space Of time until it was cut
off and repaired experienced a strong al
though not dangerous shock as they step
ped from the bridge to ground. Several
horses were shocked and a dog or two
much surprised.
The cellar of the new Clement block
next to the Howard Relief building was
| filled with several feet of water and the
same was true of all the cellars uncover
ed by buildings. Private houses and
| stores suffered great inconvenience and
damage.
Lightning struck a telegraph pole in the
northern part of the city and the fire de-
| pa rtment was called out.
| In some way n large quantity of water
came from the roof down into the rooms
of the Shaw block on Main street and con
siderable damage was done 10 the Interior
of the building. The office OF Brown &
Macomber received a quantity Of water
and some of their law library was wet
| The streets toward the lake were badly
washed and quilted and will require the
expenditure o. several hundred dollars
| The railroad tracks were covered with
sand and the water having overtaXed the
sewers rushed wildly toward the lake
| without restraint. The shower lastet
over an hour and a half.