USA > Pennsylvania > Delaware County > A history of Delaware County, Pennsylvania, and its people; Volume I > Part 36
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At Crozerville the storm appeared to have concentrated, and spent itself with awful violence. The morning had been lowering with occasional showers of rain, the air cool for the season. After noon the sky was thickly overcast, and clouds floated slowly in various directions, the wind as noted by a vane. N. E. After two o'clock. thunder was heard at a distance, which soon became louder and more frequent. About three o'clock, under an unusually dark sky, rain commenced falling in torrents, accompanied with vivid lightning and almost continuous peals of thunder. The lightning was more vivid than ever had been witnessed by the observer in the day-time, nor had he ever before heard so much loud thunder at one time. The rain terminated a few minutes before six o'clock. Crozerville lies in a basin surrounded by steep acclivities. In every direction from these hills, sheets of water poured down, and mingling with the current below. presented, together with the rapid succession of forked lightning, a scene of awful sublimity.
In the northern part of Middletown the greatest violence of the storm lasted from three to five o'clock, p. m., the wind blowing from every quarter. but not with great violence.
In the northern part of Nether Providence, the heavy rain commenced between four and five o'clock, and continued till a quarter past six o'clock. The wind blew from various directions, and at five o'clock with great violence from the W. N. W. In the northwest of Springfield township the heavy rain commenced between two and three o'clock and continued till five. There was a strong current of air or whirlwind that passed over the high grounds near Beatty's mills, that uprooted and broke off trees. Lower down, on Crum creek, "there appeared to be two storms of rain approaching one another, one from the S. E., the other from the N. W., which appeared to meet, and it could not be told for some minutes which would prevail, but eventually the one from the S. E. carried the sway," the rain being greatly increased during the struggle. At another point in Springfield the heaviest rain fell between five and six o'clock, the wind being variable, and blowing at one time with great violence, prostrating trees and fences in its course.
In the middle part of Chester township the heaviest rain was late in the afternoon ; there being no wind it fell in vertical streams. On the upper border of this township
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there was some wind. In the township of Bethel, not far from the Delaware State line, a hurricane of great violence occurred between four and five o'clock in the afternoon. The wind blew in opposite directions, as was proven by uprooted trees. Two miles further north the wind was still more violent, tearing up a large quantity of heavy tim- ber in a very small space. A valley of woodland, bounded by high hills, had nearly all its timber prostrated, not lengthwise with the valley, but across it, with the tops of the trees towards the N. E.
In the western part of Upper Darby the rain was very heavy, but the storm was not so violent as further N. W. The heavy rain, however, began about three o'clock, while in the more easterly parts of the same township but three-fourths of an inch of rain (accurately measured) fell during the day. In the neighborhood of Chester it rained moderately through the day, with one pretty heavy shower in the evening.
. In Birmingham, heavy rains commenced about noon-the wind east or southeast. The clouds were dark and heavy, the lightning sharp, and the thunder very heavy, "accompanied with a rumbling noise in the air." The wind was changeable, and blew with great violence. The rain ceased about four o'clock.
The most remarkable circumstances connected with. the rise in the waters of the several streams, was its extreme suddenness. In this particular, the flood in question has but few parallels on record; occurring in a temperate climate, and being the result of rain alone. The description given by many persons of its approach in the lower district of the county, forcibly reminds one of the accounts he has read of the advance of the tides in the Bay of Fundy, and other places where they attain a great height. Some spoke of the water as coming down in a breast of several feet at a time; others described it as approaching in waves; but all agree, that at one period of the flood, there was an almost instantaneous rise in the water of from five to eight feet. The time at which this extreme rapidity in the rise of the water occurred, was (in most places) after the streams had become so much swollen as to nearly or quite fill their ordinary channels. The quantity of water required to produce such a phenomenon, was therefore immensely greater, as the valleys of the streams in most places have a transverse section of several hundred feet. The breaking of mill-dams, and the yielding of bridges, and other obstructions, contributed in a degree to produce such an extraordinary swell, but we must mainly look for the cause of this sudden rush of waters to the violence of the rain-if the term rain will apply to the torrents of water that fell in the northern and western sections of the county.
Cobb's creek, on the eastern margin of the county, was not swollen much beyond an ordinary flood, although 5.82 inches of rain fell during the day at Haverford College, within the drainage of that stream.
Darby creek, in a narrow valley above Heys' factory attained a height of 17 feet ; the greatest height of Crum creek was about 20 feet, and that of Ridley creek 21 feet. At Dutton's mill, Chester creek rose to the height of 33 feet 6 inches.
To notice all the interesting details that are given in the report on the flood, from which the foregoing extracts have been taken, would occupy too much space in this volume. The subject will be concluded by presenting a summary of the damages sustained by the freshet within the limits of the county, both public and private, together with a brief notice of the casualties that resulted in the loss of life, and the narrow escapes from imminent peril.
Thirty-two of the county bridges were either wholly destroyed or seriously injured. The following estimate of the damage sustained by the bridges on the several streams, was carefully made by competent persons :- On Darby Creek, $3,370; on Ithan Creek, $475 ; on Crum Creek, $6,875; on Ridley Creek, $5,400; on Chester Creek, $8,600; total, $24,700.
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Many of the townships also sustained heavy losses in the destruction of small bridges and culverts. The damage to private property will be given in the aggregate, only speci- fying the amount on each creek :- On Darby Creek and tributaries, $20,000; on Crum Creek and tributaries. $24,000; on Ridley Creek and tributaries, $39,000; on Chester Creek and its branches, $104,000; on tributaries of the Brandywine, $2,600; amount of private loss, $190,375.
It is also estimated that the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad Company sustained damage to the amount of $4,500.
Nineteen human beings lost their lives by drowning. To persons who cannot bring their minds to realize the almost instantaneous rise in the water, this number may appear large, but it is really almost miraculous, that under the circumstances, so small a number should have perished. Hair-breadth escapes, and rescues from perilous situa- tions, were numerous. Had the inundation occurred at midnight, when most persons are wrapped in slumber, the destruction of human life would have been dreadful indeed. Such a calamity can only be contemplated with feelings of horror.
Seven lives were lost on Darby creek. When the stone bridge at Darby yielded to the torrent, two young men-Russell K. Flounders and Josiah Bunting, jr., were stand- ing upon it. Both perished. At the cotton factory of D. & C. Kelly, on the Dela- ware county turnpike, five lives were lost. Michael Nolan and his family, consisting of his wife, five children and a young woman named Susan Dowlan, occupied a small frame tenement immediately below the western wall of the bridge. Before any imme- diate danger from the rise of water was apprehended, Michael and his eldest son had left the house with the view of making arrangements for the removal of the family. There was no water about the house when the father and son started, yet upon their attempt to return, after an absence of five minutes, it was not in the power of any one to reach the dwelling, much less to render the inmates any assistance. The wing-walls of the bridge soon gave way, and shortly after this the house was swept from its foun- dations, became a complete wreck, and all the inmates perished, except Susan Dowlan, who accidentally caught the branches of a tree, and at length obtained a foothold on a projecting knot, where she supported herself till the water had sufficiently abated to allow her to be rescued. At Garrett's Factory three families, numbering sixteen indi- viduals, were, for a long time, placed in the utmost jeopardy. Their retreat from land was wholly cut off by the sudden rise in the water-the houses they occupied were com- pletely wrecked and large portions of them carried away, and they had nothing left to afford them the least security but the tottering remains of the ruins of their dwellings, which, fortunately, withstood the torrent.
No lives were lost on Crum creek.
On Ridley creek, five individuals perished, a father and his four children. George Hargraves, his wife, four children and a brother, named William, occupied a central dwelling in a long stone building at Samuel Bancroft's factory, in Nether Providence. The family delayed making their escape till it was too late, but retreated into the second story. The flood soon rushed through the building and carried away the two middle dwellings, and with it George Hargraves, his four older children and brother William; his wife, with the youngest child in her arms, being in a corner of the room where the flooring was not entirely carried away. William was carried down the current half a mile, where he fortunately found a place of safety in the branches of a standing tree. Shortly after, George, with his children, floated by him on a bed, and, as he passed, cried out, "hold on to it, William." Scarcely had George given this admonition to his brother when he and his four children were swept from their position on the bed and engulfed beneath the turbulent waters of the flood, not to rise again. After Jane, the wife of George Hargraves, had sustained herself on a mere niche of projecting flooring, with her child in her arms, during five hours, she was rescued. Thomas Wardell Brown, his wife and child, occupied the other demolished dwelling, but were saved by taking a
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position on a portion of flooring corresponding to that on which Jane Hargraves stood. but of much less dimensions. This was the only portion of their dwelling not carried away.
A short distance above Sherman's upper factory, a double frame house, occupied by William Tooms and James Rigly and their families, was floated down the stream and lodged against the wheel-house of the factory, in a position opposite to a window of the picker-house. Rigly, after placing his wife and child in the second story of the picker-house, discovered that Tooms, (who was sick) his wife and two children were in the garret of their dwelling, the roof of which was partly under water. He immediately broke a hole in the roof and rescued the inmates, one by one, and placed them in the picker-house. In half a minute after he returned the last time, their late dwelling was whirled over the wheel-house, dashed to pieces and carried down the stream
Edward Lewis, Esq., and his son Edward, were placed in a situation of great peril. They were in the third story of the grist-mill when the building began to yield to the flood-their paper and saw-mill having previously been swept away, and a current of great depth and velocity was passing between the mill and their dwelling, across which was their only chance of retreat. A considerable part of the walls of the mill gave way, and the roof and timbers fell in confusion around them, but fortunately enough of the building remained firm till they were rescued by means of a rope.
On Chester creek seven human beings were deprived of their lives by the flood, and many others were placed in situations of great jeopardy.
Mary Jackson, a colored woman, while assisting her husband to save floating wood, near Flower's mill, was overtaken by the flood and drowned. Near the same place Mr. William G. Flower was subjected to imminent peril. Mr. F. was on the meadow when the flood came down in a wave (represented by spectators as being from three to four feet high), and swept him away. He was carried from his path into an old mill-race, where he succeeded in reaching a grape vine, and by means of that, a tree. But the tree was soon uprooted and borne away. After a short period of extreme peril, during which he was several times overwhelmed with trees, timber, &c., carried along with frightful velocity, he succeeded in catching the branches of another tree, when, almost exhausted, ne reached a place of safety.
No lives were lost at Chester, though numbers were placed in extreme danger by remaining in a dwelling adjoining the eastern abutment of the bridge-the western abut- ment and the bridge having been carried away, and a fearful current passing between the eastern abutment and the town. Mr. Jonathan Dutton was placed in a situation of great jeopardy. While endeavoring to secure some property in his mill from being dam- aged by the flood, he was surprised by the sudden rise in the water to an alarming height. He retreated from story to story till he reached the upper one. His situation soon became more awfully perilous, for the mill began to yield to the force of the torrent. His posi- tion becoming desperate, he leaped from a window of the mill and with great exertion reached the shore.
John Rhoads, a resident of Pennsgrove, (now Glen Riddle) with his daughters, Hannah and Jane, and a granddaughter, were carried away in their dwelling and drowned. Mary Jane McGuigan, with her only child at her breast, in another dwelling at the same place, perished in the same manner.
The new stone cotton factory at Knowlton, 76 by 36 feet, well stored with machinery, was carried away, but fortunately none of the operatives were in the building. There are many other interesting facts and circumstances connected with this unprecedented and disastrous flood, described in the report of the committee of the Institute, but our allotted space will not permit us to notice them.
The county commissioners stood aghast at the almost universal dam- age or destruction of the county bridges, and scarcely knew where to com-
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mence the work of rebuilding and repairs. The legislature was applied to for an exemption of the county from State tax for one year, which applicat. tion was ungenerously refused. Loans were resorted to; and it became a matter of astonishment in what a short time both public and private dam- age was repaired, and almost everything restored to its former, or even to a better condition. The recuperative energies of no community were ever more severely taxed, and it was only by this test that the people of our county became fully acquainted with the vast extent of their own resources.
We have now arrived at a period in our narrative when the proceed- ings commenced which, after a protracted contest, resulted in the removal of the seat of justice of the county from Chester to a more central location, around which has grown up the town of Media. Dr. Smith took an active part in these proceedings on the side favorable to removal, and on that account he would gladly have passed over the subject with the mere notice of the time when the seat of justice was removed. But it is a matter of too much local importance to be passed by so slightly. An effort will therefore be made to narrate the transactions connected with it free from any improper feeling or bias.
On November 22d, 1845, agreeably to public notice, a meeting of citi- zens of the county was held at the Black Horse tavern in Middletown, "to take into consideration the propriety of removing the Seat of Justice to a more central position." After adopting a preamble and resolutions favor- able to a removal of the public buildings to a more central location, the meeting recommended meetings to be held in each township on the 5th of December following. "to elect two delegates in each, to meet on the 6th of December at the Black Horse tavern; the delegates appointed to vote for the removal of the Seat of Justice or otherwise; also, to decide upon those [the sites] designated by this meeting, which of them shall be adopted." The following places were named "as suitable locations for the public buildings :- County property in Providence; Black Horse in Mid- dletown ; Chester ; Rose Tree in Upper Providence, and Beaumont's Cor- ner, Newtown." Between the time of holding this meeting and the election of delegates, the November court was held, at which the grand jury recom- mended the erection of a new jail. This was the second grand jury that had made the same recommendation, and it now rested with the county commissioners to proceed with the work, a circumstance that rendered it important that the question of the location of the new prison should be de- cided as early as possible.
In some of the townships no delegates were elected; and owing to the very icy state of the roads, many who were elected did not attend the meeting appointed to be held on the 6th. Twelve townships were, how- ever, represented as follows : Birmingham-Dr. Elwood Harvey, J. D. Gil- pin. Chester-J. K. Zeilin, Y. S. Walter. Upper Chichester-Robert R. Dutton. Concord-M. Stamp. E. Yarnall. Edgmont-E. B. Green, George Baker. Marple-Abram Pratt, Dr. J. M. Moore. Middletown-Joseph
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Edwards, Abram Pennell. Newtown-Eli Lewis, T. H. Speakman. N. Providence-R. T. Worrall, P. Worrall. Upper Providence-E. Bishop, Thos. Reese. Thornbury-Eli Baker, David Green. Tinicum-Joseph Weaver, Jr.
After various discussions, a vote was taken on the different sites that had been proposed, which resulted in giving the county property 8 votes; the Black Horse, 6; Chester, 6, and Rose Tree, 2. Eventually, upon further ballotings, the county property received 12 votes, a majority of the whole. Both removalists and anti-removalists were very imperfectly represented by the delegates assembled at this meeting, yet it was their action that de- termined the particular location of the future seat of justice of the county.
The anti-removalists were present at the meeting to defeat the ques- tion of removal altogether; but should not have participated in a vote upon the different sites, if they did not intend to be bound by the result. Those removalists, who felt that they had not been represented at the meet- ing (and they. constituted a majority of the whole) were generally opposed to fixing a site at all, but desired that the vote of the people should be taken, simply, for and against the removal. From this cause and with the view of reconciling all differences, the committee appointed by the meet- ing held at the Black Horse, called a third meeting, to be held at the Hall of the Delaware County Institute of Science, on the 30th of the same month. This meeting was very largely attended. An address to the people of the county was adopted, and also the form of a petition to the legislature in favor of a law giving the people a right to vote on the question of removal without fixing a site. This was not acquiesced in by a considerable number of removalists residing principally in the northwestern part of the county, and the result was a schism in the removal party, and the adoption of two forms of petition to the legislature.
The county was represented by William Williamson, of Chester county, in the Senate, and by John Larkin, Jr., in the House-both gentlemen being opposed to removal, but both understood to be favorable to the passage of a law that would afford the people of the county a fair vote on the question.
The dispute among the removalists in respect to fixing or not fixing a site in advance, grew warm, and as a majority of them favored a law that would authorize the vote to be taken on the broad question of removal, the anti-removalists were led into the belief that this course was adopted be- cause it was impossible for their opponents to unite on any one loca- tion, and consequently that they would run no risk in submitting the ques- tion of removal to a vote of the people, provided, that it should be taken between Chester and any one of the sites that had been mentioned. Under this erroneous impression their opposition was directed almost wholly against the party who opposed deciding upon any site till after the ques- tion of removal had been decided, and they ventured to say in their re- monstrance to the Legislature that they "do not believe it is fair and equal justice to array the friends of all the locations suggested (six in number)
18
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against the present Seat of Justice, for were any one place selected by the petitioners, we [they] are confident that two-thirds of the votes of the people would be found against it."
Though every reasonable effort was made to induce our representa - tives to go for a bill authorizing a general vote on the question, it was soon discovered that they would not favor any plan that did not fix upon a site in advance. The bill that had been prepared by the committee of corre- spondence was called up by Mr. Larkin, and being opposed by him, it was of course defeated by a large majority.
The conduct of our representatives was very unsatisfactory to the removalists, and had the effect of exciting them to greater efforts, for carry- ing their favorite measure. The removal committee of correspondence, in a published address to the citizens of the county favorable to removal, de- nounced the treatment their bill had received at the hands of the Legisla - ture, and exhorted their friends to a steady and unyielding persistence in their efforts, until the present untoward circumstances that surrounded the subject should be removed, and the clearest rights appertaining to citizens of a republican government should have been yielded to them.
During the autumn of 1846 various efforts were made to secure the election of a strong removalist to the House of Representatives, but these efforts failed, and Sketchley Morton, Esq., a lukewarm anti-removalist, was elected, pledged, however, to advocate the passage of a law that would fair- ly submit the question of removal to a vote of the people of the county.
The removalists who had opposed fixing a site for the proposed new seat of justice, finding that under existing circumstances no bill could be passed in that shape, gradually yielded the point, and the result was the pas- sage of the act of 1847, entitled "An act concerning the removal of the Seat of Justice of Delaware County." This act provided that at the next general election, "those voters in favor of removal shall each vote a written or printed ticket, labelled on the outside, Seat of Justice, and containing the words County property in Upper Providence, and those opposed to removal, shall each vote a written or printed ticket, labelled on the outside as aforesaid, and containing the word Chester." In case a majority voted for "Chester," the commissioners were required to erect a new jail at the existing seat of justice, while on the other hand, if a majority voted for the "County property in Upper Provi- dence," the commissioners were required "to definitely fix and determine on the exact location for new public buildings for the accommodation of the coun- ty," not more distant "than one-half of a mile from the farm attached to the House for the support and employment of the poor" of Delaware county, and not more than one-half mile from the state road leading from Philadelphia to Baltimore.
The question was now fairly at issue, and on terms that the anti-remov- alists could not object to, for they had proclaimed in their remonstrance to the legislature their conviction, in case these terms should be adopted, that "two- thirds of the votes of the people" would be found against the proposed new
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site. They had, however, committed a fatal mistake in allowing a site for the new buildings to be selected so low down in the County, when it was within their power to have had one higher up and more distant from Chester selected. It was this that reconciled the great body of removalists to the proposed site ; for while it was not regarded by many of them as the most eligible, its selec- tion greatly increased the number of voters who felt that their convenience would be promoted by a change.
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