The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1908-09-02
ENORMOUS DAMAGE
WROUGHT BY FLOOD
Laurens County Suffered
IneStimabIc Loss.
HIGHEST WATER MARK
More Than Thirty Important Bridges and
Several Buildings Swept Away
by Raging Waters.

Since the election enthusiasm has
died away the people have begun to re-
alizc in some measure the extent and
scope of the damages done by the re-
cent Hoods, the rains beginning Sunday
night the twentieth, continuing Monday
at intervals and reaching the greatest
fall at about midday Tuesday; in the
upper section of the county the heaviest
rain fell Tuesday morning, while in the
city it was heaviest at nOon continuing
until nightfall. There is none in the
county who remembers such a down
pour or such damage wrought by flood
On Mr.. W. D. Sullivan's store at Tumb-
ling Shoals, Reedy River, there was a
water mark of the 1852 food and this
of 1908 is higher by 10 feet
The damage to property, roads,
bridges, railroad trcstles, houses, stores,
gins, saw mills, and crops is far be-
yond what was first thought, reaching
stupcndous proportions. Laurens county
has suffered the worst disaster in her
history.
1t is impossible to cnumerate the
losses but a few may be named to give
a conception of the fearful havoc
wrought by the raging waters. In the
city Of l.aurcns the Columbia, New
berry and Laurcns trcstlc at the Union
Station was undermined, though not
washed away, the waters If Little
River reaching height heretofore un-
known The city bridge over the same
stream a few yards above the railroad
trcstlc was wrecked, and the repairs
viii cost at least $4,000. Another
bridge over Little River at the termi-
nus of North Harper street badly dam
aged and cut off travel from that side
Among the county bridges reported
lost on wrecked are: On Enoree river,
the Van Patton, Allen, Kilgo, Yarbor-
ough, and Musgrove. There are two
others that county Supervisor Hum
bert is satisfied were unable to with
stand the floods. On Warrior Creek.
the three county bridges, including
large covered bridge, are all gone. Lit
tie River, whose waters were of such
volume and force, washed away the
Day, Milton and Dunlap bridges; Dav-
export and Holmes bridges are in all
likelihood gone. Over the Saluda river,
the Ware Shoals, RaSor's, Watts, and
Boyd'S bridges are damaged or washed
away: all Of these bridges are very eX-
pcnsivc structures, one costing at least
$S, 500; the Smith, Maddox, and Erwin
bridges were not heard from but they
were less likely to withstand the floods
than those reported lost. On Rccdy
river the Tumblng Shoals, Burton,
Bcavcrdam and Ivy Bluff bridges are
lost; the Monroe and Culbcrtson arc
reported gone. The bridges on Rabun
creek reported lost are: Goodgions,
Darlington, Mcdaniel, Mcpherson, and
Anderson. The bridges named above
,.rc not including the many smaller or
any of the low flat structures through
out the county.
SupcrviSor lumbcrt estimates that
it will ,ake at least 500, 900 to repair
the damages and rebuild lost bridges in
the county.
The crops have been severely hurt,
THOUGH the cotton is less aSuifcrer than
corn. the extent of which cannot be es-
timatCd.
Along the railroad routes in the coun-
tv there were a number of waShoutS
and several trcstlcs that went under,
the Scaboard being probably the great
cst loser and the c., N. g. l.. the light
est Toward Spartanburg there were
two washOutS between SWitZcr and
and Woodruff, so that no trains could
pass until Friday. The Charleston &
Western Carolina S trcstlc over the Sa-
India i'm the lower section of the county
was wrecked. and both the Seaboard' S
bridges over the Saluda and Enorec
suffered the same fate. Traffic is tied
up ON that line, although transfer of
mails is made.
At Boyd's mill the river has cut out
new bed and left the old, nccessitat-
inp a big fill to throw the water back
into the dam built for Rccdy River
Power Co. No damage to the compa-
ny's machinery is reported. Strange
TO relate but the flood washed away q
well near the bridge at Boyd's; the well
was 2S feet deep and there is nothing
loft but the granite basin. w. ID. Sui
iivan's store at Tumbling Shoals was
carried completely away, loss to him
of S6 600; the gin was also washed away.
MIR Elihu ElmOrc's house at McDanicls
mill ON the Rccdy was carried of. Mum
hers of small houses and mills situated
near the raging streams have been lost.
Thc county has never suffered such a
loss,