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Newspaper
Lawrence Weekly Journal
Location
Lawrence, Kansas, United States of America
Date
Jun 06, 1889
Page
6
Early reports estimate the Johns town catastrophe death toll far below final figures with chatter that the list may reach eight thousand and perhaps ten thousand as investigators assess the extensive loss. Local officials warn that numbers could climb amid ongoing search efforts and unconfirmed reports.
Two passenger trains were swept into a torrent with passengers drowned as debris and wreckage accumulated for hours and fire broke out amid the catastrophe.
Lana Hoton reports from June 2 on the Johnstown catastrophe. Two trains on the Pennsylvania line were swept away by a raging torrent, leaving towns along the South Fork and Conemaugh ravaged. Officials fear thousands killed as rescue work struggles to count the dead amid ruined mills, viaducts, and floating debris.
AP photographer reached Johnstown proper by basket from a cable as rescuers pulled desperate survivors from ships. Bodies of Mourning families fill the streets and riverside, with hotels, schools, and mills crushed. Dozens dead, hundreds unaccounted, and a vast cityscape remains in chaos.
Yesterday afternoon’s report from New Florence Pa describes dawn light failing to ease fears after the flood. Corpses line the shore near Johnstown as bodies are found in trees. residents ignore early warnings and water floods Cinder street as homes rock and currents rush through streets.
Wires Barre Pa June 1 The Susquehanna river rose rapidly from 3 PM at a rate of a foot per hour with reports of badly damaged crops from tornado wind and heavy rain. Mountain washouts delay trains from Buffalo and other ports.
Williamsport and Lockhaven face threats as wires report potential danger on June 1. Authorities urge caution as details remain unclear and crises unfold amid ongoing monitoring by emergency services and local agencies.
A Reading-tied dispatch reports the lumber boom failure at 9 oclock causing water to flood the upper town of Williamsport. By 2 pm Lock Haven also reported its boom breaking and area overflowed. No further news as wires failed. A later message confirms Williamsport remains flooded with rising water.
The Virginia storm has caused severe destruction in Hillsboro with extensive losses including houses stock barns fences and other property. Damage estimates are not yet available.
Purspere June 1 a citizens meeting has been called to devise ways to aid Johnstown flood sufferers. Pennsylvania railroad officials have placed cars on Liberty street to receive provisions and clothing, and many prominent merchants have made heavy donations.
The Chicago board of trade stopped quotations to non members causing a general disturbance around the board. Local bucket shops hurried to obtain quotes from private warehouses amid refusals and selective access. Commission men warn of new trading hurdles as some customers threaten to withdraw without continuous quotes.
Harrisburg reports a severe rainstorm causing extensive flooding. Pax ton creek overran banks washing away bridges and flooding first story floors. Mayor Fritchie led relief with boats. narrowly escaped drowning. Susquehanna at eighteen feet and rising. Independence island submerged. Pennsylvanian rail lines flooded. westbound trains delayed. reporters seek alternate routes.
Baltimore reports from Frederick and Westminster describe relentless rain across the region. The Potomac at Point of Rocks rises over its banks inundating surrounding lands and washing away Western Maryland rail lines. Widespread crop damage includes wheat and early fruit. Cumberland division opened to Johnstown. death toll ranges from 5,000 to 10,000 in dispatches to B&O officials.
Trains 3 6 4 and 36 held between Piedmont while trains 5 42 and two emigrant trains departed Piedmont at 7 PM. Pittsburg division likely open by night. Water covers Harper's Ferry bridge with locomotives and cars loaded. riverside tracks submerged at Point of Rocks and St Johns Run. Four small bridges between Glencave and Hyndman damaged. Cambria branches to Johnstown and Saultsburg blocked.
A Greensburg source reports the first day express passing Lang Hollow to Johnstown at nine. The flood swept away one car with about fifty or sixty passengers, and it is feared all aboard perished.
Dispatch reports describe extensive flood damage across Pennsylvania and surrounding areas. Bridges carried away on the Philadelphia and Reading lines. the Juniata and Susquehanna rivers rise, washing yards and tracks at Emportium Williamsport and Steelton. Water floods Williamsport station and overruns Steelton tracks, with multiple bridges destroyed or damaged along the Northern Central and Cumberland Valley routes.
The Patapsco River floods in Maryland with water nine feet deep at Gaithersburg and widespread damage suppressing rail traffic. The Pennsylvania line seeks to move Wheeling trains over the Baltimore & Ohio but the B&O cannot move its own trains to Baltimore. Banks of the Patapsco fill with spectators as a bridge near Gray's is torn away and homes are evacuated.
Washington reports floods with water reaching Pennsylvania Avenue at Sixth Street and flooding Central Market. A strong current sweeps B Street and the gutter along Sixth and Pennsylvania Avenue. Sewers back the river, leaving no escape. Flat-bottomed skiffs ferry residents at Sixth and Pennsylvania to the southwest.
A Pittsburg dispatch reports Pennsylvania Railroad secured a temporary wire line from Long Hollow to the western end of Johnstown bridge. Debris against the ridge stands forty feet high and continues burning. The scene underscores ongoing recovery efforts after the disaster.
A dispatch reports heavy washout blocking the bridge and a complete wreck of the Cambria Iron Company plant on the north side of the Conemaugh at Johnstown. It had been believed only the south bank facility was washed away. The plant is valued at about $5,000,000.
A FreeportPennsylvania special reports the water in the Clarion river channel receding to twenty one feet while logs and lumber from the Clarion flood the area. Half a million passes today and a million more expected tonight. The river carries logs sawed lumber pianos organs trunks and other goods from Johnstown and vicinity. No deaths reported locally though six bodies recovered at Lerehburgh.
In Carlisle on June 1 the Cumberland valley faces its worst flood yet. Property along the Gettysburg and Harrisburg railroads is lost as miles of track wash away. The Harrisburg and Potomac line suffers washouts, bridges, telegraph lines, and poles are carried off. Williams' Grove picnic grounds flood, summer buildings swept away. Ten to twenty bridges destroyed.
Flooding from the June 1 event washes away seven bridges and twenty houses in the area. Damages to milling property are unestimated with several collieries flooded and wrecked. Mines cannot resume for about two weeks. Reading Coal and Tron Co faces the greatest losses, estimated at 250000 dollars. No fatalities reported.
Harpers Ferry reports Potomac and Shenandoah rivers rising one foot per hour with canal boats and drift thick. The high water has reached Eighth Street flooding cellars on the south side of Pennsylvania Avenue and extinguishing a fire at the Washington monument engine house, stopping the elevator.
Elmira June 1 reports damage in the vicinity exceeding 300000 dollars as water reaches record heights. Traffic is completely suspended due to the flood conditions.
The Grand Lodge of Good Templars elected officers including Right Worthy Grand Templar W. W. Turnbull of Scotland Right Worthy Grand Counselor Dr Oronbyaiekha of Canada Right Worthy Grand Vice Templar Mrs A Finch of Illinois Right Worthy Grand Secretary B F Parker and other posts with Mrs Brookback of Indiana and Rev W G Lane of Nova Scotia named as past grand templar.
Dr. Wheeler offers affordable dentistry in Lawrence breaking from high prices. Silver fillings cost 50 cents. finest gold fillings at half usual rates. A complete set of teeth available for 5 dollars. Office located over Humes shoe store at 829 Mass Street.
A neighbor, Mr Deming, claimed the strawberry crop would fall by the leaf roller. Beal counters that yields are 75 percent higher this year due to cleaner grounds and better vines. He invites the public to inspect his grounds and promises to retire if proven wrong. He criticizes Deming for jealousy and urges local work on farms.
Wanted at once. see Daily Journal issues dated July 15 1888 and August 7 1888. Readers are urged to bring in or identify missing documents, notices, and advertisements related to overdue payments and unclaimed property. Contact journal offices for details and submission deadlines.
A compact record from the Darty Journal dated July 15 1888 summarizing local notes, events, and notices. The entry lists community minutiae, names, dates, and brief happenings typical of a late nineteenth century local paper.
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