River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1919-05-15

On May Is, 1894. just quarter
century ago today, the good old
Kinnickinnic broke all bonds and
went on tear that for general
destruction, noise and terror beat
anything it had ever done before or
since.
After long series of heavy rains
extending spasmodicalIy 9ver a
period of two weeks, there came. on
that memorial night just 25 years
ago tonight, about midnight.
veritable cloudburst accompanied
by hard wind and terrific cleo
trical demonstration.
The entire valley, being already
drenched with previous rains, could
absorb none of this downpour and
the natural drain, the Kinnickinnic,
got it all direct.
The River rose TEN feet in ONE
HOUR.
This great flood of water came
tearing down the valley, fled through
every gully by freshets of twice as
large as the original stream, taking
every bridge, fence, tree and build
ing in it's path, and when it struck
the city the weight of the water and
wreckage tore right through the
Prairie mill dam, releasing the
pond and hurled an avalanche of
| water and debris down onto the
narrower valley through town. The
iron bridge on Cedar street was
snapped off. A large barn, owned
by Coley Krauth, and containing
several horses, cows, poultry and
machinery, was swept from it's
position at the end Of the present
freight depot. A foot bridge just
below was swirled into the stream
and the new iron bridge at Maple
street followed. The city Jail and
the ice house were undermined and
fell into the flood. Two bridges
across the Greenwood mill race and
the fiume itself were wrecked. The
Greenwood mills, though badly
damaged, miraculously escaped de-
struction. The railroad bridge was
moved several inches, but did not
fall.
Below the railroad bridge the old
saw mill Of the Fosters, about the
first structure built on this stream,
went down with the flood, and with
it, it's neighbor the S. J. Mealey
starch factory.
Thelander's pure bred poultry
flock, housed on the fiat, was swept
away. The Junction bridge was the
only one left unframed on the river.
There was tragic terror in the
plight in which the Sven Brolander
family Of nine persons were situated
when the breaking of the upper
dams suddenly flooded their home to
the second story, trapping them in a
home that swayed and tottered, ap-
pearing at every moment about to
be hurled over the falls. They were
thus imperiled from shortly after
midnight until 5 a. M, when the
subsiding of the flood made their
rescue possible. A clump of trees
just above the house divided or
stopped the wreckage so it did not
strike the house, saving the
occupants from almost certain death
as the building would have been
hurled down over two falls had it
toppled over. The Charles Eichman
family, consisting of six people,
were also living on the fiat, but were
rescued at 2 a. M, when the water
was swirling through their house.
The saving of the Brolander family
was one of numerous mr. lculous
features of the flood. Many animals
horses. COWS and hogs, escaped drown
ing after being carried for miles
down stream, and some even went
over both falls unhurt. One team,
tied IN a manger, went through it
all and were found the next day,
munching grass way down creek,
one still tied to broken part Of the
stanchion. Four hogs from Kalers
slaughter house survived a long
float downstream. Nineteen hogs
at Pratts slaughter house swan and
fioated all night in the flooded pen
and all survived.
To this day many relics of this
flood may be found down stream