The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1913-03-27
WATER SETS BACK
And Is Flooding Several Cellars in Bus
iness Part of Barre.

Swollen by the incessant rains of tn,
past lew days, Stevens branch started
out on one of its periodic rampages to,
day and with its tributaries now threat.
ems to inundate the middle section OF
the city. Already stores and shops in
the vicinity of Depot square have beer
visited by the waters and the danger
is said to be growing more threatening
The branch is up to a mark much high.
er than its normal bank mark and um.
less the rains abate, the overflow water
which is backing up into Potash brook
viii cause a repetition of last years
flood, when the whole Of Depot square
was submerged.
Early this forenoon Manager NJ. S.
Levin of the Union Clothing Co., went
to the basement of his store on Depot
square to find ten inches of water on
the floor and the depth growing greater.
Summoning his clerks and outside assist
ance, he began the work of removing
many trunks and other articles to the
floor above. Before the cellar could be
cleared, the water had reached depth
of -four feet. Ii receded but little dur.
ing the forenoon. Because of the early
discovery of conditions i'm the basement.
Mr.. Levin did not anticipate any Sc
rious loss. few valuable trunks were
soaked but beyond that the >'amage was
trivial. The basement will have to be
renovated before il can again
be used for storage purposes, however
In the Nichols building adjoining the
Union store on the south. water rushed
in with a volume hardly less threatening
than that of Easter Sunday, 1912, when
the entire basement of the block was
under water for several hours. Much
Of the stock in the south store Of the
basement, which is used as display
room for electrical fixtures, was stored
IN shelves at the time when the water
,ame through the walls, so that the
oss will be slight Both the tenants of
he Nichols building and the clothing
'tore, however, are keeping close watch |
m the water Should the river continue |
o rise, it is only a question of time /
when the water setting back into Potash |
,rook will come up through to the sur I
ace of the street. The brook is trans |
Ormed into raging torrent, but little
is felt over any sudden |
ush of water from the hillsides, as was
he case last April.
Other merchants along Main street |,
ave been put to much inconvenience by t
rater-soaked easements. Cellars in the
'rench blocks, the Reynolds hardware
tore, the kendrick and Drown pharma
les and other places, are partially filled
18th water and the tenants believe that
he situation remains menacng Just so
ing as the heavy rains continue. At
be Central Vermont station, the base
rent floor was deluged in the early
orenoon and railroad employees were
bliged to quit their labors in the freight
ards to work in the station cellar.
here, too, the prospects of bad losses
nd serious inconvenience hinge on the
Gather.
It as feeders for Stevens branch are
id to be running level with high wa
II marks. Everywhere in this section
significant brooks Of summer have been |
anged into small rivers and the dam
re to highways can hardly be estmat-
|. On Pike street last night water J
wing underground wore large hole in
e road and break in the water main ]
as the result Superintendent Rey a
lids of the water department had a
ng OF men working on the break as :
rly as 10 o'clock last night Both a
e street and water departments are Il
orking capacity forces in the sections
mayed by water. n