The Mathews journal. (Mathews C.H. [Court House]) 1903-1937, 1911-03-23
FLOOD OF 1771
BROKE ALL RECORD
RICHMoND. Va sDec,al-

| II n " ~ u A, Special
In its issue Of Wednesday. August
21. 1916. the old Richmond Inquirer
reprints from the Virginia Gazeete Of
May and June. 1871. published by
Purdie and Dixon, at williamsburg.
two highly interesting articles con-
cerning a great freshet which took
place that year in James River and
its tributaries
In those days foods OF this sort
were known as "freshes'' (sinRular
1resh"), and the editor Of the In
quirer, in a PREDATORY note, explains
/ that he reproduces the articles from
the Virginia Gazette because there Is
a dearth OF news. and he believes
these peeps into the past will be quite
as entertaining as real news.
The first article lifted" from the
Williamsburg paper appears In the
I torm or letter dated May 80, 1771,
which says that the rise in the river
was at least twenty feet higher than
OF the fact that the Westham ''VYeare
douses,' just above Richmond, were
swept away, together with some 500
h0gsheads OF tobacco. AlIusion is also
made to the destruction OF Birds
and Shocko Weare Houses" which
contained some 5000 hogsheads of
tobacco.
The writer Of the news letter SAYS
that ships in the river experienced
great danger from floating trees. and
that five sailors just below Richmond
were drowned by the upsettinE of q
yawl. The vessels at Shirley Hundred
| (now known as Shirley, IN Charles
City county, were driven from their
| moorings to City Point.
Many Slaves Were Drowned
A second letter to the Virginia Ca
zette. dated June s, 1771, goes into
more details about the fresh" and
the damage II wrought In various
parts OF the James River section.
Mention is made OF the fact that four
| teen negroes were drowned Off Elk
Island. while between 600 and zoo
head Of cattle were swept to destruc-
don.
A ship at Warwick Just below Rich
mond, foundered, for the water was
said to be forty feet higher than the
common tides.
Between 5000 and 5000 hogsheads
OF tobacco were lost. according to ac-
counts received, and rumor said that
fifty lid people had perished. The rise
at one time was sixteen inches an
hour.
Miles in length of trees and logs
came driving down the river, and
nothing could Withstand their force
In some places trees and car
cases are matted together from twelve
TO twenty feet in heights. and from
near enough to separate them"
The rainfall at Richmond. IL ap-
pears, was practically nothing. and the
hoods were attributed to heavy and
constant showers in the mountains
According TO the Gazette. "a waggish
blade OF Richmond, we are told, said
II was his opinion Old Nick had bored
hole through the mountain and let
in the South Sea upon them"
An old negro who lived on a plan
tation near Richmond and who knew
the Indians OF this vicinity we'll Is
quoted as saying that the red people
told him the flood Of 1871 beat any
thing Of the kind they had ever heard
or. And truly IL appears to have held
the record for destructiveness II the
correspondent OF the Gazette is to be
credited The letters also make men
ton OF widespread damage done 10
Farming lands, particularly in Abe
marie county.
According TO the editor of the In
quirer. Mr. Randolph (lnitials not
given) commemorated this fresh" by
the erection OF an obelisk near Curle's
TO mark the height OF the deluge.
Was Mere Village Then.
Richmond. at the time or the food
or 111l. was a mere village OF little
or no Importance commercially. The
capital was not moved here from VIII
liamsburg until 1879, and the munich
pality was not Incorporated as a city
until 1882. Nineteen years later the
population was only 3,761 and the
town contained only 500 houses
| Mordecai. in his Richmond in BY
gone Days tsevOrd edition. 1860, pp
30S-9), refers To q dangerous fiooc
which swept down suddenly on Rich
mond one May day without warning
and caught great many fishermen
I idling on the rocks OF the James
! So unexpectedly did the deluge come
that the lazy disciples OF Walton did
not have time 10 realize their danger
In the twinkling of an eve the,
| found themselves in desperate straits
| for floating trees and logs menaccd
| them on every side and made a re-