Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, 1901-08-22
OUR TOWN
SWEPT BY FLOOD
p & R, Bmbankment Gives Way, Inundat
ing a Large Portion of Town.

fore, as the result of back water or an
overflow from the river above town. But
the flood Sunday, which inundated
nearly half the town and wrought much
damage, was also unique in that it came
directly as the result Of a downpour Of
! rain. And an unprecedented downpour
it was, which fell upon the earth in tor
rents from about midnight Saturday un-
til 10 a. m. Sunday.
Mahoning creek rose steadily, but at
II O'Clock it was still within its banks
Long before that hour, however, the
two streams which intersect the borough
I known as Billiards. and Sechler's run
were both toaming torrents. At each of
, these streams the cu vert under the =. x
X. railway was able to carry off only
small fraction of the water and the high
embankment became an immense dam.
back of which the water rose higher and
higher, creeping up toward the caves of
the buildings and spreading over large
! tracts.
The water was in the second story Of
the p. l. brewery, also in the second
story Of John Stcinman's residence, a
/ street, and of several other houses near
! the brewery. The bottling establish
| ment Nas lifted from its foundation and
turned bottom upwards.
At Sechler's run the imprisoned wat
1 ers rose to an immense height, submerg-
/ ing John X. Benefits ponds and the
! tall trees on the spot which line the
driveway. 1t was like an immense lake
which extended up the hollow a far as
the eye could see.
The pressure was enormous and about
1870 o'clock the railway embankment
broke. 1t was a grand sight as the wat
er, released, like a river dashed down
over the meadow below, roaring. foam
ing and throwing its spray high in the
air. Eighty feet of the embankmcnt,
which is here some thirty feet high, was
swept away in moment, the rails and
cross ties remaining intact and spanning
the wide cha,m.
The muddy water spread out in an
immense sheet or 10 feet deep cover
ing everything in sight The canal was
filled to overlooking and for once the
abandoned old waterway was of service
ltssly out of town. For hour after hour
it nobly did its work, full and overflow
ing bearing along a rapid current, which
must have matarial!v '. reduced tho ana1
at the upper end OF the borough.
Rolling on over the canal the swollen
waters spread out over East Market
street and there is scarcely a cellar from
Beaver street to the end of the borough
that was not filled or partly full of water
In many instances the food reached the
first floors Of the residences, walls at
cellars have caved in and everything
about the premises and streets are COW
cred with thick deposit Of mud The
water came so suddenly that at many
places the carpets could not be removed
in time and they were ruined.
About noon the embankment above
the culvert at Billiards. run showed
signs of weakening. The sidewalk over
the arch on Walnut street was the first
to fall, leaving forbidding and danger
Gus gap. a few minutes later the EN-
bankment on the upper side, which was
soaked by the water split along the edge
of the ties, the detached portion failing
over into the.water. That neither the
street nor the railroad was any longer
safe was obvious and a rope was stretch
ed across each to prevent travel.
BhzZarl's run, which usually covers
the d. l.. & w. track during high water,
augmented by the terrible overflow at
! Sechler's run created great deal of
damage about the -. l.. * W. station.
In every part of the depot the water was
is inches to ? feet deep. The platform
was raised from its foundation and every
thing about the building given a thick
! deposit Of mud, which it required
/ several days to remove. The d. l.. x
! w. track was much damaged, being un-
| der water from above the Shovel factory
nearly down to Mill street. There were
several bad washouts, ut one of which
! the track gave way which caused load
! ed coal car to upset The heavy turn
table was lifted from its bed, carried
nearly a hundred feet and deposited on
/ the track.
The barn on the Blizzard property was
swept away. Along ID. l.. x w. Avenue
the water reached to nearly the second
story of the houses. Several families
had to be assisted to places Of safety,
among them the household of John
Deutsch, who had to be removed in
boat, Peter L. Farley acting as pilot.
About noon Mahonng creek over
flowed its banks. The bridge at Center
street was lifted from its abutments and
portion of it carried away. Northum-
berland and Center streets were flooded
to the depth of several feet. About this
time it seemed that good portion of
the borough was under water.
Below town the flood was as high as
anywhere The old canal boats Hoated
away. The water rolled over the sides
, of the canal in a steady stream, submerg
ing John Keim's brick yard, running his
floors, spelling 10000 green brick and
washing away the foundation Of his kiln