Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1911-10-31
MEcKLENBURe CREEKS.
Work Of Dredging Commenced in
Business Manner Saturday.


The first scoop full Of dirt toward
the county drainage work was lifted
Saturday afternoon at 800 o'clock in
the presence Of several members of
the drainage commission and a large
crowd of interested onlookers. The
work Of building the dredge boat and
placing the engine thereon has been
In progress for several weeks just be-
low the concrete bridge on East
Fourth street on Little Sugar creek.
A representative of the Fairbanks
Steam Shovel company Of Marion, O.,
from whom the outfit was purchased,
has been on the ground for some time
experimenting the placing Of the ma
chinery. He will remain for week
or ten days initiating the crew into
the mysteries of the gigantic machine.
The company's representative is A.
who goes from place to place and
|superintends the construction and
placing of the dredging machinery.
The dredging outfit consists Of boat
|seventy-two feet long and eighteen
feet wide. On this boat and built
into 1t Is a 55 horse power engine
with a boiler of requisite size. The
boat Is covered to protect the machin-
cry and the sides are also weather.
+boarded, the whole looking not un-
like the type Of steamboat used on
the Mississippi river. The point of
greatest dissimilarity with the Missis-
sippi boat Is the huge crane and the
lifting apparatus which is attached to
one end of the boat and which swings
easily from side to side and up and
down.
The entire outfit is operated by a
crew Of three men, one Of them the
engineer, the others operators Of the
crane or hosting apparatus. The
scoop attached to the end Of the crane
holds one and a half yards Of dirt
and makes a scoop every minute. So
that every two minutes three yards
of earth is lifted from the creek chan
mel. The boat Is eighteen feet wide,
mel eighteen feet wide and about nine
feet deep. the crane emptying the ex-
|cavated earth on either or both banks,
as desired. 1t will dig its own canal
ahead of itself as 1t digs down stream.
Work will be continued Monday at
the present site, the work of yester-
day afternoon being a kind Of test or
try-out Of the machinery. The dredg-
ing will be continued on Little Sugar
creek through the Thompson orphan
age property, the Stephen Land COM
panyS properly ana on DeyOnQ the
city through the country to the South
Carolina line. When that creek Is
completed the dredging outfit will be
taken apart and brought back to the
western part of the city and put to-
gether on Big Sugar creek, just be-
low the bridge between the city and
Seversville. From there the dredging
will be continued to the lower land
of that creek.
The dredging outfit was purchased
by the county at a cost Of about $10,-
600 and the cost Of the work will be
paid by taxing the property owners
adjacent to the drained section by a
graduated system that will put the
cost of the dredging on those receiv-
ing the most benefit. The agitation
looking to the drainage proposition
started last January when a mass
meeting was called at the county
court house to discuss plans. 1t re-
suited in the organization Of the
county drainage commission, Of which
DIR. ]. r. Alexander of this city is
chairman; Mr.. w. S. Pharr of Shar-
on. secretary: Mr. ]. p. Clanton of
Steel Creek. Mr. ]. s. Squires Of Crab
Orchard, and Mr.. John Cross Of Hun
tersville, are the other members
Charlotte News.