Little Falls herald. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1889-1950, 1903-07-10
TWO SCORE ARE DEAD
BREAKING OF DAN At OAkFoRD
PARK, PA, CAUSES HEAVY
LOSS OF LIFE.

6O00 Vt LII
Brush Creek Valley Scene Of Devas.
r. tation and Ruin, the Damage to
Property Being Estimated at $780,
ooo-Maj ority Of the Victims Were
Pleasure Seekers Enjoying a Days
Outing.
Jeanette, Pa, July las a result
of the breaking of the Oakford Park
dam Sunday, twenty persons are
known to be dead and sixteen are
missing. The property loss in the val
ley will reach s1,500,000 and the dis
tress is SO great that outside relief will
have to be asked for.
Brush creek valley is scene of
devastation and ruin. From the sight
of the break of the dam at Oakford
park to Wilmerdlng, taking in the
towns of Jeanette, Penn, Larimer,
Greensburg, Irwin, Burrell and Manor,
the awful power of the rushing waters,
following the breaking of the dam, is
apparent on all sides.
Almost with the first streak Of day.
light bureau was opened here, where
the names Of the identified dead recov-
cred and the missing were registered,
together with a description of the bod
les recovered but not identified.
Tho oat1Strnnhn woo oorco1 hu q
waterspout, which flooded Brush creek,
a small stream running past the park
The disaster occurred late in the
afternoon, when the park was crammed
with pleasure seekers.
Buildings Are Swept Away.
The suddenness of the disaster, to-
gether with the attendant features,
was pathetic. Most of the people were
attracted to the park by the Children's
orchestra, a juvenile musical organiza-
ton, which gave it's initial open air
concert. The band was playing when
the storm came up. Many of the mu-
sicians, who"were girls, grabbed their
instruments and ran into the building
used as roller coaster, to the laugh
ing gallery and the tent covering the
merry go-round.
All these buildings, with the excep-
ton of the roller coaster building and
portion of the merry-go-round, were
swept away. The exact number Of
persons who were seeking shelter in
the buildings from the storm is not
known. Witnesses of the disaster say
at least 200 were housed in the places
of shelter, while the officials of the
Pittsburg, McKeesport and Greensburg
Street Railway company assert that
most of the persons in the buildings
escaped.
In addition to the loss of life in the
park many persons were drowned in
the valley below the dam. Houses
were washed away in all the towns
along the little stream and hundreds
OF persons were thrown into the water.
A majority Of these were picked up by
rescuing parties, but many were
drowned.
Every Bridge Washed Away.
The greatest property damage done
by the flood in Brush creek was in the
vicinity Of Irwin, the loss falling most
heavily on the Pennsylvania railroad.
The estimated loss of property there,
it is said, will reach $250,000. Reports
show every bridge along the creek was
washed away.
The search for bodies among the de-
bris along Brush creek has begun. All
during the night bodies were seen in
the swirl of the creek.
The calamity at Oakford park,
though on much smaller scale SO far
as loss of life is concerned, is similar
in it's cause to that of the great Johns
town flood Of fourteen years ago. In
that case, as in this, dam whose wa
tiers were swollen by sudden flood
following on a period of rainy weather
burst and wrought ruin and great de-
structiOn of life.