The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1903-06-10
GIANT eL0UDBuRsTI
and FLOOD |.
Great Cotton Mills are Swept
Away.---Many Persons are
Drowned, and the Loss Will
4 Aggregate st Least Least Sc So ctea cea.
600. NJ

- vCharle6t0n, d u0e 1.-Two OF the
three great cotton mills at Paoolet,
| two OF the four at Clifton, and The
mill ct Glendale, known as the D.. L. J.
Converse Co., were totally OK partially
/ destroyed at z o'clock this morning.
As result Of q terrific cloudburst in
the early morning hours, she Pasoiet
river rose to an unprecedented height
and swept the great mill structures
from their foundation Tie FULL de.
tails Of the disaster are yet unobtain-
able htre, owing to the interruption
! in geographic communication, but
there remains no longer Q doubt that Q
tragedy has taken place in the Pied
mont section OF the State, chat SUR
| passes in horror end destructiveness
anything heretofore dreamed OF there.
The loss Of life must have been great
but it is impossible yet 10 offer even
O suggestion Of its extent. a dispatch
just received here from a. E. TWich-
| ell, president Of the Clifton mills,
merely says that there are many
deaths. q.
The mills that have been destroyed
were situated in Spartanbnrg county
on the Pacolet river, stream not
usual = more than one hundred yards
wide. The four great mills at Clifton
are six miles from Spartanburg. The
Converse mill was three miles lower
down the river, and Paoolet, at which
there were three mills, i'd four miles
further to the southwark. About
each mill acre had sprung up mill
town varying in size from l 800 in.
hahitants at Glendale or. Converse, to
5 ,000 at Clifton. IS y ;s5 S55
The best authoritative accounts yet
received state that the cloudburst
began at an early hour this morning
and that in an incredibly short space
OF time five inches; OF water fell. The
river rose with q rapidity that carried
terror to the hearts OF the mill people.
It quickly became apparent that mora
than ons Of the great mill structures
were doomed. Mills No. l and No. q
at Paoolet were the firss to give way.
No. 8 mill is not complssed, but it,
too, is thought to be destroyed. Mills
No. 3 and 4 at Clifton stood until
nearly.9 o clock when their foundations
gave way. "A dispatch received to-.
night says that mills No. / aud 3 at
Clifton are still standing, but tr 1t
they are damaged and are still in dam
.gar OF destr rutii uutsii1n Tine mill at Glen
dale Of the Converse Co. is probably
hopslessly wrecked or has been swept
away completely. With the mills at
Pacolet went $500 bales Of cotton
and q 900 bolts Of manufactured clvth.
The loss Of materials raw and
manufactured, at Clifton is esti
:uated to be even greater. What the
total loss will be at all three PLACES
can only be estimated nov. The total
Investment ct Clifton was %, SOC, ,000;
ct Pacolet5 81 800. 900, and at Converse
$500, ,00OS These estimates were made.
tonight by I. j. Pelzer, the largest
holder Of cotton mill securities in the
South and ONE who has hundreda Of
thousands Of dollars invested in these
mills. The Pacolet mill is the parent
corporation Of the New Holland mill
recently damaged in the Gainesville
Cyclone. So !: s.; 81 & 3s3. q
Tonight's message from Paoolet con-
firms previous reports. Mill No. 8
will remain intact, but its engine
room 10 gone, together with two ware.
hcusas. one containing 1,500 bales OF
tSYsspts S,a.t anu me otnef, i,ioyo naies OF
1 olSsn. ~ s. +, I, :
~ z paSthn psargi ?. ", June 1;19sso,
laslon, aaasn ,,l ana rum are, ,hc.alng f9ti
sMay aalong fne panks q tle "a facoiet
~ s5oI In Ssson 20 = ao0iet, ais-
sslsS s'., o. ot ~ 70 miIes, es lne result or che
aWIui avn. nood s or saturday morning. .s
y iWss 'ss. g 2 clocks az she morning
ns. = Z: ss,sl Dsgau 20 raii. 90 rapid
:a!a sle El!er Z rise tnat houses con;
ssalnlng sieepinC inmates were carried
TON 1nelr Z onnaasions . ,li without ehe
leaas y ls warning ana the hrat information
- 8 sns oscupants J vas sas learned ny md
- lug 9,sI snynsslyes !,als ss aaoss. ~
~ na.s many 9 Snese were rescued,
;ey tha; Samslsa SeLflp,y arom eSpSsaIs