By Stephen Saalman
Cannelton, Indiana
124 years ago this week
Rained 15" in 10 hours
Last Wednesday night, July 27 1910, probably the worst rain and lightning storm in the history of the country passed over Perry County leaving much destruction in its wake. The lightning began to flash before 8 in the evening and kept it up continuously until after 6 in the morning Thursday, a period of 10 straight hours. Great sheets of lightning shot from heaven to earth and much damage was reported from that alone in the line of the storm.
Those who claim to know, say that rainfall here was anywhere from 12" to 15" during that time. Nearly a dozen washouts also occurred where some small bridges were swept away and others pushed out of position by the flood. The train depot in Lewisport, Kentucky, was struck by lightning during the awful night and burned to the ground. No one was there at the time. It was a total loss.
Telephone and telegraph lines were down until late Thursday when messages were gotten through. We had no mail from the Kentucky side of the river until Friday. Water had accumulated in such immense quantities that the narrow ditch and stone culvert over Castlberry Creek was taxed to its utmost to carry it off as a solid stream was shooting through the gutter and tearing out dirt and sand wherever it's struck.
When the sand was undermined back to the wall it collapsed and that was the beginning of the complete destruction of the entire 50 foot culvert that had been there nearly 25 years and which was erected by the county at an expense of about $15,000 to take the place of an old covered wooden bridge with spanned Castleberry Creek some 50-150 ft. below-down Front Street. The news soon scattered to all parts of town that the big stone culvert wall had caved in and in less than an hour close to a thousand people had gathered there, eager and anxious to witness the awful destruction of the water.
So awful was the destruction that long before noon, a strip of land 200 feet long 150 ft wide and 35 ft deep which included the entire width of Front street in Cannelton was torn away and hurled towards the river. The waves from the stream shooting out into the Ohio. The main water pipe that lay in its path was torn into like a reed and in a short time the reservoir on the hill was emptied of its contents and every factory that used city water either had to shut down or provide other means of feeding their boilers.
But that was not the only damage from water. Another culvert one across 7th Street near Charles Latimer's place fell in leaving a big hole in the street some 8 to 10 ft square and shutting off travel from that direction. The only street open in the upper end of town the rest of the week was Fourth street.
Three bridges and gunwales in Sulphur Springs Addition were washed away. Washington Street from St Michael's Church down to 6th street and all of Taylor street were badly torn up by the water immense quantities of sand, gravel and cobblestones filling the streets and covering the sidewalks at Clemens' dry goods store and at Henry Heck's ware room on Taylor street. Many persons who had canned fruit in cellars lost it by the overflow of water. Half of Curt Clark's yard was filled with water at his beautiful home on Front Street. The water remained there all week. And the bottoms above and below town the most of which were in cultivation were covered with water ranging in depth from 2 to 10 ft, much of it being badly damaged.
Out in the county the destruction to the lowlands is something awful. In many places farmers wheat in the shock was floating around in the water. Waldo Simon of Tobinsport told us he counted 200 of his wheat shocks afloat in the water. Other farmers reported similar troubles and that corn is badly damaged in all the low lands. Roads are badly washed, small bridges in many places being taken away by the rushing water.
Across the river in Hancock County, destruction was said to even been worse. This was the worst rainstorm ever recorded in Perry County.
(July 30, 1910 Cannelton Telephone).
- Log in to post comments