The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1901-06-27
TOWN SWEPT AWAY
Place of 1900 Inhabitants Wiped Out
BY High Waters.
RIVAL OF TIE JOHNSTOWNFLOOD
Keystone, West Virginia Visited By
Cloud Burst, and 600 Lives Said to
Have Been Lost.

BIueneId, W. Va, MS enl!Te SSCtlGn
has just been visited by food the e';-
tent of which in all probabilities will
equal or exceed that of Johnstown il
1889. so far as the loss Of property is
concerned. Early Saturday morning
shortly after midnight, heavy down
pour of rain began, accompanied by a
severe electric storm, and steadily in
creased in violence until 10 O'Clock n
the morning, then ceasing for several
hours and beginning again with renew
ed violence. This continued through
out the entire day and night and at
10 O'Clock Sunday morning, while the
storm had abated, the lowering clouds
indicated another terrific downpour at
any moment. Many miles of the Nor
folk & Western Railroad track, bridges
AMI telegraph lines are entirely de-
stroyed and communication is entirely
cut off west OF Elkhorn, 50 that il is
impossible to learn the full extent or
the loss of lie and property, but off,
Gals OF the coal operations located IL
the stricken district have seHtrout mes
sengers 10 Elkhorn, the terminus Ct
both telegrapAic and railroad commun!-
eaton, and have received repart that
a conservative est mate as to ths loss Of
life will easily reach 200. Some OF t,.a
dro#ne& a:e among the most prem
nent citizens Of the coal fields.
The Pcs:aoatas coal field is lccat,d
in a basin. WITH high mountain rang 5
on e.tac. side. Elkhorn creek flows
through The centre CT the basin whic1
ranges t.on one-fou-th 70 che nile n
width. rom Ennis ". Va, 20 Vivian
Yard, W. a, distance CT Ten miles,
miners cabins, coal company commits
sa.:c5 anI cake plants line this basin.
Elkhor2 c-cek. being fed by NUMEROUS
small streams coming from the mouG-
tain sides. rises very rapidly AID this
watersrout came 50 suddenly tia. the
entire E.s.n between the mountain
ranges Was dcoded and before the ter
ror-stricken people realized what was
upon them they were carried down ~
the food. wh.ch swept everything il its
path.
The litile Town Of Keystone with a
population Of about 2,OC0 seems the
greatest sufferer, practically the entire
town being washed away. This town is
the principal one in the Pocahontas
coal fields and is located near its
centre. 1t vas to great extent head
quarters from which the mining popu-
lation purchased supplies and was also
the only place in the field where whi:-
key could be purchased. At this place
there ws-e some 70 or Is saloons al! Of
whiel were washed away. The .o2ort
comes thai the mining population are
now occupying the banks OF the
streams below. catching the mercA2u-
disc and barrels If wh:skey AMI be =
as they aoat down. A great num0@r q
the ccal a2i coke plants throughout
the Pccoton;as field are reported p"a,-
tically destroyed and in some instances
entirely washed away. Cn account Ct
the very high water which has food d
the region and prevented communica-
ton. anything like correct estimate
OF ta los Of property is impossible but
from the best information obtainable
a. . p. H.. the loss to property Will
~
Al Laadgraf the beautiful home o.
General Manager Ord IS reported gone,
but his family is said to be safe. Pas
senger train No. 4 Of the Norfolk
& Western Railway reached Vivian
Yard, the western terminus Of the coal
field. about $50 a. m, met the food
and was unable to proceed further. The
waters reached such a depth that teh
coaches had to be abandoned, the pas
sengers being rescued by means OF
ropes strung from the windows OF
coaches to the tops Of remaining coke
ovens some distance away. Between
Elkhorn and Vivian Yard, distance
OF ten miles, 100 cars are said to be
washed from the tracks and many OF
them carried down the streams. 4
rough estimate places the numbc: III
bridges washed away between Blue
field and Vivian Yard. distance OF zS
miles. al from l5 to 20 and from pres.
ent indications it will be impossible 10
ge: trains through TO Vivian and
points wcSt OF there under week or
ten days. This will render it impossible
to get relief into the stricken dist.:ct
and with these who escaped with their
lives. homeless and without food, III
sdeSc-ibable suffering is inevitable.
On the Clinch Valley branch Of the