Evening star., 1902-03-22
REAL COLD WEATHER
THIS WINTER HAS NOT BEEN
BAD BY COMPARISON.
Records Of Years When the Mercury
Went Down and Stayed
There.

Washingtonians who have complained Of
the cold of the past winter may obtain
some satisfaction by knowing that there
have been many colder seasons. Thomas
Jefferson IN his Notes on Virginia. de-
scrbing the severity Of the winter Of 1850,
says: The winter was cold that the
Chesapeake bay was frozen from its head
to the mouth of the Potomac river. and at
Annapolis, where the bay is five miles
wide the ice was five inches thick"
The winter Of 1927, according to Richard
P. Jackson's Chronicles of Georgetown
was of remarkable severity in this latitude.
Alexandria was nearly burned down on the
18th Of January Of that year, and many
citizens of Georgetown skated on the ice
to Alexandria and assisted in extinguishing
the conflagration. The winter Of 1S29-3O
was very cold and the ice broke up with
freshet. carrying away the schooner
Washington from Crittendens wharf. The
cables with which she was made fast were
rent like pipe stems and the vessel was
carried down the river until she grounded
on Easby's Point.
At the same time the Long bridge was
shattered to pieces by the ice, fourteen
gaps being made by the force of the fresh
ct. Congress then purchased the remnant
of the bridge from the Potomac Brides
Company for 10000 and afterwards ereO
ed the present structure. The winter of
1S'l-52 was very long and extremely cold.
Mr.. Jackson was at that time scholar at
Prof. Hallowell's school, Alexandria, and
he remembered the conditions well.
The cold weather commenced in Novem-
ber 1881; the Potomac was soon ice bound
and the boys enjoyed fine skating On COM
Ing home to spend Christmas he crossed
the river at the ferry near the aqueduct
and saw on the ice at the time wagon
loaded with wood being drawn by four
horses. The mercury dropped to four de-
grees below zero In the fore part Of jan
uary there thaW and the Ice went
away without causing damage: but in the
latter part OF the month the weather again
turned cold and the Potomac was frozen
over
"On the 2sth of January" Mr. Jackson
writes, after two nights freeze. at
tempted to come home from Alexandria by
the way Of Long Bridge. On arriving at
the bridge found no track broken for the
ferry boat. and to cross the ice was con-
sidered impossible, as the river is more
than mile wide Having my skates with
me. and not liking to turn back, put them
on and, taking the branch Of a tree in my
hands, l crossed over in safety, to the
satisfaction Of the crowd who stood look
ing on at my foolhardy venture.
'As 1 skated on the ice it was SO thin
that it would crack and bend under my
light weight, and l could distinctly see the
leaves and twigs floating in the water un
der my feet Having arrived on the Wash
ington shore, L felt well satisfied that
1 would not have returned for the fortune
Of Stephen Girard.
coolest on Record.
1.-THE winter of 1880 was the coolest ever
experienced in this latitude. We had some
weeks thaw, and then the weather would
turn extremely cold. The mercury at one
time in January indicated sixteen degrees
below zero. We had three severe cold spells
during that year, one Of which was in
March. On the third of that month I
skated on the Potomac, playing handy and
prisoners base
"The winter Of 1899 40 was long and cold.
The ice broke up in the Potomac on the
10th of February, 1910, and carried away
the Chain bridge and the draw of the Long
bridge. The winter Of 1S4O41 was long and
cold, though not as severe as some pre-
viOuS winters.
..The 18th Of February, 1S41. was the
coolest day during the season, and it is well
remembered by the older inhabitants
the day that General Harrison paid
Georgetown a visit just before his in
auguration as President Of the United
States. We all remember the winters Of
1880. 1856 and 1867. The SHOWS were deep
and the cold was severe. During the VIM
ter Of 1857 sleighing was enjoyed
Fleet horses We're brought from other
cities to race on Pennsylvania avenue. and
when the drivers would be arrested for
going at an improper speed they would pay
the fine crack the whip over the head of
the justice and go at it again. This was
the winter that a locomotive was run on
the ice across the river from Maryland to
Alexandria. Sleepers and rails were laid
upon the ice at Havre de Grace, on the
Susquehanna river, and trains OF cars
crossed over for more than month
There is a law OF nature that one eX
treme follows another. The extreme hot
summer Of 1884 was followed by the cold
Gather of 1895. The centennial year of 1876
was very warm The heat set in about the
Goth of June and never broke until the Goth
of July, when we had a few pleasant days.
only to be followed by intense heat that
lasted until the 1st of September. The win
ter Of 1S76-77 was severe. The extreme
cold set in on Saturday. the 9th of De-
cember. and continued until the 18th of
January when we had thaw.''