Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1902-03-07
THE MARCH FRESHET.
Narrow Gauge Railroad Crippled
by Bad Washouts.
The Connecticut River Bridge Badly
DAMAGED.

The Connecticut River Bridge Badly
Damaged.
Hundreds of acres of meadow land
in Windham county all the way from
Rockingham to Vernon were submerg-
ed by the overflow from the Connec
ticut river on Sunday and Monday.
The heavy rains of Friday, Saturday
and Sunday raised the tributaries of
the Connecticut hereabout, but the
main trouble came from the streams
farther north, where there was
greater amount of snow. The pros
pect was very threatening on Monday,
when the river was rising steadily,
but luckily the waters fell nearly two
feet during Monday night, and by
Tuesday morning the danger was en-
tirely past.
The old Connecticut river bridge in
Brattleboro, known as the toll bridge,
had the closest "calr' in it's history
and it is now in such battered and
weakened condition that it will prob
ably be better policy to build a new
bridge than to attempt to repair the
old one. The water in the Connect
cut at this point was probably three
feet lower than at the time of the
freshet of 1895, and two feet lower
than in March, 1896. The damage to
the bridge came through the extremely
large quantity of ice in the river, and
from the fact that the main body of
ice opposite Brattleboro did not break
up until the stream was at freshet
pitch.
The ice here went out with tire
mendous crash about o'clock Sunday
night, and it was forced so high in
the air that it tore away the braces on
both sides of the centre pier of the
bridge and also at the pier on the
Vermont shore. At intervals through
out the day, the ice foes struck the
battered braces and frequently the
flood wood and timbers on the ice
crashed against different parts of the
bridge. The water was within four
feet of the floor of the bridge. Early
in the afternoon a building or part
of a bridge which came down stream
struck the structure with terrific
force, shaking it from end to end.
After the braces gave way the bridge
settled perceptibly. The bridge was
closed to all traffic Monday and Tues
day, but is now open.
People Left Homes on Island.
Mr.. Adams, who occupies barns on
the island, moved his horses and
wagons to the village on Sunday night
and the people on the island were
obliged to leave for safety during Mon
day. Mrs. John H. Allen and her in
FAINT, less than two weeks old, were
brought to the village on bed Mon
day afternoon and taken to the home
of Fred Ellis in the Ryther building
The water covered a large part of
the island, but did not go entirely over
the ball ground. In April 1895, the
ball ground was covered to a depth of
two or three feet and the water at
one time flowed over the highway.
In 1896, the ball ground was covered
with cakes of ice from one to two feet
thick, and some upwards of 10 feet
in length.
Several of the roads along the river
were impossible, and on Monday the
only way of driving to Vernon was via
Guilford the water covering the high
way near the Hunt farm and also near
the Eddy farm.
One Side of Pumping Station Crushed
by Ice.
When the ice jam in West river
moved Sunday night the pumping sta
ton was in danger of being carried
away. Huge cakes of ice set back
against the east side of the building
forcing the whole side in several feet.
The pump was buried in ice and the
water rose nearly to the tops of the
fire boxes so that it was impossible
to keep fire or work the pump. The
road south of the station was covered
with ice some four feet high for
distance of about 20 rods, making
the road impossible until a channel
was cut through the ice. The water
overlooked the Bratleboro Retreat
meadows to DEPTH in some places,
OF 15 feet The ice at the mouth of
West river did not go out and is still
frozen fast. 1t is fortunate that it
did not move, otherwise the highway
bridge might have been carried away.
The water on Monday afternoon was
within foot of the body of the
bridge, and on the north end the ice
rested against the stringers, and when
a comparatively small quantity went
out the braces at the north end of the
highway bridge were carried away.
No Trains on Schedule.
Trains ran Monday and Tuesday
without semblance of regular sched-
ule. The "Owl" train from the north
was on time, but the next train, due
from the north at go, was stopped
at Bellows Falls, the tunnel there be-
ing blocked on account Of high water.