The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1907-03-22
The Ice Gorge
Port Deposit Devastated BY Water
and Ice-Railroad Traffic
Blocked.
GREAT DAMAGE TO PROPERTY.

GREAT DAMAGE TO PROPERTY.
/ The breaking up of the ice in the
Susquehanna river, which had
for days been anxiously watched for
by the residents of Port Deposit
and other dwellers along the banks
of the stream, occurred about 2
O'Clock Friday morning last, when
thousands of tons of ice were
hurled by raging flood of waters
upon the river banks, sweeping all
obstructions before it and causing
Widespread devastation and ruin,
the picture presented after the
receding of the flood being deplor-
able in the extreme, with huge
boulders of ice piled 20 or 80 feet
high in some sections, wrecked
buildings, dismantled dwellings,,
uprooted trees, broken telephone
poles, lumber and debris of every
description piled about in the low
lying portions of the town, and
while higher water has been ex-
perienced at previous floods, the
damage wrought has never been as
great.
The lower end of the town is
practically free from ice, but at the
extreme upper end, or Rock Run,
the street and pavements were com
pletely blocked and impossible. In
this vicinity the ice is piled 80 feet
high in places on the river shore.
Within this area the devastation
wrought by the ice is distressing.
Scarcely house on the lower or
river side of the town escaped seri-
GUS damage. The lower stories
were flooded and made the depos-
itories of mud and debris. Many
second stories were inundated and
in many dwellings on the opposite
side the water rose to the height of
three and half and four feet. Pill
lars and posts were torn from their
place, porches and outbildings,
wharves and storage houses crush
ed and carried along by the rush
ing torrent. In many places heter-
ogenous, unsightly masses, brought
down by the river, have been
lodged-trees, lumber, chicken.
coops, outhouses and mingled with
all, huge blocks of dirty ice.
Especially is this the case in the
vicinity of the Tolchester Co.'s
wharf and the Rowland lumber
yard.
At the lower end of the town
three large sand barges were lifted
from their places in the river and
hurled high and dry on the bank,
one of them being deposited on the
railroad track. The huge tank of
the Standard Oil Co. was carried
from its base The lumber yard of
of the Rowland Co. is a mass of
confusion. The warehouses and
wharves of the Colchester Steam
boat Co. are wrecks. The p, B.
& W. station is badly damaged.
Dwelling houses lost kitchens,
annexes, pOrches, bathrooms, doors,
and shutters; stables, and other
out buildings are demolished and
fences gone. The Port Deposit
Store Co., the Standard Oil Co.,
the McClenahan Granite Co., the
Rowland Lumber Co, the Penn
sylvania Railroad, the Port De-
posit Electric Co., the Maryland
Telephone Co., the Diamond State
Telephone. the Western Union and
the Postal Telegraph Co. have sus-
tanned serious damage, in addition
Ito which numerous private families
are heavy losers from property loss
and damage by water.
Railroad traffic was suspended,
the tracks of the Columbia & Port
Deposit road being under tons of
ice for miles. A large force of men
were put to work on the obstruc-
tions Saturday and passenger SER
vice between Perryville and Port
Deposit resumed on Tuesday, but
the road was not opened from Port
Deposit northward until Wednes-
day evening.
John M. Strong, of Baltimore,
has instituted a suit in Baltimore
against the P, B. & W.
Railroad Company, for $4,000
damages for injuries alleged to
have been received by him by the
premature starting of a train at