The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1908-09-02
ENORMOUS DAMAGE
WROUGHT BY FLOOD
Laurens County Suffered
InestimabIe 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-
allze in some measure the extent and
scope of the damages done by the re-
cent floods, 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 flood and this
of 1908 is higher by 10 feet.
The damage to property, roads,
bridges, railroad trestles, houses, stores,
gins, saw mills, and crops is far be-
yond what was first thought, reaching
stupendous proportions. Laurens county
has suffered the worst disaster in her
history.
1t is impossible to enumerate the
losses but few may be named to give
a conception of the fearful havoc
wrought by the raging waters. In the
city of Laurens the Columbia, New
berry and Laurens trestle at the Union
Station was undermined, though not
washed away, the waters of Little
River .caching height heretofore un-
known. The city bridge over the same
stream few yards above the railroad
trestle was wrecked, and the repairs
Will cost at least $300.0O Another
bridge over Little River at the term-
nus of North Harper street badly dam
aged and cut off travel from that side.
Among the county bridges reported
lost or 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 a
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-
cnport 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
$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 Reedy
river the Tumbling Shoals, Burton,
Bcaverdam and Ivy Bluff bridges are
lost; the Monroe and Culbertson are
reported gone. The bridges on Rabun
creek reported lost are: Goodgions,
Darlington, Mcdaniel, Mcpherson, and
Anderson. The bridges named above
are not including the many smaller, or
any of the low flat structures through
out the county
Supervisor Humbert estimates that
it will take 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 asufferer than
corn. the extent of which cannot be es-
tmatcd
Along the railroad routes in the coun-
ty there were a number of washouts
and several trcstles that went under,
thc Scaboard being probably the great
est loser and the c., N. & l.. the light
est. Toward Spartanburg there were
two washouts between SWitzer and
and Woodruff, so that no trains could
pass until Friday. The Charleston &
Western Carolina's trestle over the Sa
luda in 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
iip on that line, although transfer of
mails is made.
At Boyd's mill the river has cut out
q new bed and let the old, necessitat-
inc a big fill to throw the water back
INTO the dam built for Reedy River
Power Co. No damage to the compa-
nv's machinery is reported. Strange
TO relate but the flood washed away a
we'll near the bridge at Boyd's; the well
was % feet deep and there is nothing
left but the granite basin. w. ID. Sui
jiyan'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.
The county has never suffered such a