The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1902-03-06
FLOOD DAMAGES.
The Greater Portion of Garrett CouH-
ty Visited and Flood
Swept
BY UNPRECEDENTED HIGH WATERS.
Doing Considerable Damage to Roads and
Bridges, Washing a Number Entirely
Away EntaiIing Loss of Several Thou
sand Dollars to the County.

Thursday last the weather under
went sudden change and became
quite warm, accompanied by steady
downpour of rain which had the eff
feet Of melting the great bodies of
snow in the woods and on the noun
tain sides. Small streams became
torrents in a few hours and as a re-
suit the waters in the larger streams
rose rapidly and to an unprecedented
height. The streams were covered
with ice from ten to fourteen inches
in thickness and this commenced TO
break up and form gorges late in the
day retarding the flow of water which
backed over the low lying lands and
inundated fields, roads and bridges to
a depth in some instances of ten feet
or more.
In Oakland Factory run whichpasses
through the centre of town, rose some
six or seven feet and flooded a num-
Der of cellars in the business section.
Aside from this it did no other dam
age. The Little Yough, into which
Factory run empties, begun to rise
Friday morning and steadily increas
ed in volume all day, until it had
spread over an immense territory and
resembled lake of large proportions.
The ice broke up in this stream
Friday morning above the mill dam
in Oakland where it lodged and form
ed solid gorge extending a half mile
or more up the stream. The Feltv
mill was in eminent danger OF being
swept away and an effort was made
to relieve the waters by dynamiting
the ice. This had but little effect,
however, until about four o'clock in
the afternoon when the ice moved
out OF its own accord and was sweDt-
down the stream to the Oakland Ho-
tel bridge where it again formed an
almost impenetrable gorge. The
water was backed up higher into
town as a result and it was feared
that all business houses would become
Hooded unless the ice was moved. Mr..
). L. Jones and a number Of men
went out on the ice and with pixies,
bars, etc, succeeded after all
hour or two of hard work in break
ing the foe which passed on down the
stream. The back water fell rapidly
after the ice went out and all danger
of an overflow into buildings was
passed.
Outside of Oakland the greatest
damage by reasen of flood was exper-
fenced. At Crellin the bridge over
the Big Youghiogheny River was
washed out, although it had been
tied by the Preston Lumber Com
pany's men with steel cables. The
lumber company's boom gave way al
so and allowed about two hundred
thousand feet of logs to pass out.
These were caught, however, at the
Ofutt boom few miles lower down
the river.
The Washington spring bridge, Just
below town, broke in the centre, a.
portion floating away. This bridge
has been in a dangerous condition
and hardly fit for passage for a num-
Der of years. 1t accommodates con-
siderable traffic and as new location
for the road leading to it has already
been surveyed the bridge to take its
place should be an iron one, as in
deed, should be all others that will
have to be replaced.
At the mouth of Deep Creek the
railroad bridge on A. Knabb & Co. S
road was entirely washed out and
traffic will be interfered with for some
time.
Along Bear Creek in Districts Nos.
. and 2 many bridges, one report be-
ing that they number ten or dozen.
had been washed away and will have
to be replaced with new ones, and as
result business is at standstil in
that section of the county.
The new bridge over the Cassleman
River below Grantsville, erected two
or three years ago, which is an iron
structure, costing in the neighbor-
hood of $4,000, was washed from its
foundations and deposited in a mea-
dow at considerable distance below.
The structure is but slightly injured
and can be replaced at cost of a few
hundred dollars.
Another bridge oyer the Big
Youghiogheny near Sang Run, is in
dangerous condition resulting from
the piers being badly washed out.
New masonry will be necessary to re-
store it to passable condition. In
other sections of the county bridges
and roads are all more or less injured
and it will require the expenditure of
three thousand dollars or more to re-
pair them.