Evening star., 1934-03-18

of water.
In 1888 Congress made appropriation
sufficient to enable the corporation of George
town to purchase the stock in the bridge, and
make forever free a bridge over the Little
Falls of the Potomac River" and also pro-
vided for a free turnpike road to the District
line and to the Virginia side of the river.
This bridge built of timber, and was
supported by immense cable chains, stretching
from pier to pier, and hence the name, Chain
Bridge" However, still another bridge was
erected and this one, said to be more sub
stantal structure built "out of the $150000
given to the town by Congress" but. like all
of its predecessors, this one also succumbed
to the powerful flow of water that races like
mad down the steep Potomac, and which
converges and centers all its strength and fury
where this bridge spans the river, at certain
times of the year.
Turing the Winter of l84O the old bridge
- or one of the many bridges-went down
to Davy Jones Locker, and the writer was
fortunate enough to find this disaster recorded
in the Georgetown Advocate of February 13 of
that year which follows in part:
The Freshet-The great and unprecedented
how of water from the head waters of the
Potomac appears to have nearly subsided, and
at low water yesterday the ends of our dam
aged wharves could be distinctly seen, but few
OF which are not greatly injured
"The Chain Bridge has understand, been
entirely swept away the water Tuesday
being level with the top of the abutments.
We hope that the mayor and corporation will
not allow one moment of time to be lost in
repairing the bridge. which think might
be done in 10 or II days during the present
mild weather.
Since the above was set in type we have
been informed that the woodwork of the
Chain Bridge is safely moored up against the
Long Bridge, which will greatly facilitate the
repair Of the former bridge. 1t is said that
there is enough logs and lumber lodged against
the Long Bridge to make 100 cords of wood.
The poor of the neghborhood are buslly en-
gagged in securing it,
This must have been heavy storm, since it
took three or four weeks before the water fell
low enough to admit of a thorough examina-
ton of the original abutment which was con-
demned as being beyond repair" and, as the
paper states "a different kind of bridge was
proposed"
RATHER unusual thing about the loss Of
this particular bridge is that the mayor
of Georgetown ordered it examined by experts
late in January a little more than a month
before it collapsed, and had the results pub
lished in the Advocate Of February 8, as fol-
lows:
MAYORS OFFICE.
Georgetown, 4th Feb, 1840
"Mr Editor-For the information OF
report of the very respectable mechanics
that engaged to examine the Chain
Bridge at the Little Falls of the Po-
tomac.
Respectfully.
JOHN COX, Mayor
"Georgetown. January 31st 1840
"The subscribers appointed by the
mayor to view and examine the Chain
Bridge at the Little Falls, and to report
on the condition it now is in, certify
that we have carefully viewed and ex-
amined same and find it to be in good
order. perfectly safe for all manner of
travelling over it.
JOHN MYERS.
SAMPSON SIMMS.
"The Leesburg Genius Of Liberty VIII
please copy the above notice"
Evidently the laugh on the mayor.
4 AANY interesting items are to be found
IVl in old newspapers and the fellow doing
research work often reluctantly passes over
many bits of news he would like to read
Sometimes he Just cannot help himself and
becomes absorbed in some foreign subject be-
fore he knows it. And SO it happened When
the writer was reading the article on the flood
of 1910, in the Advocate, for this Is what
he iotted down almost before he realized what
he was doing:
wives wanted The unmarried StonecutterS
of Washington City have all been discharged
from the Government works and the married
ones retained. The single men accordingly
held a meeting and adopted the following
resolution:
"'Whereas We the unmarried stonecutters
formerly in the employ of the Government, at
the Treasury Building, having been suspended
from the said employ the said suspension hav-
ing taken place in consequence of our being
in a state of single blessedness; and whereas
we have been informed by the superintendents
that if we will marry they will find employ