Page:Historical and Biographical Annals of Columbia and Montour Counties, Pennsylvania, Containing a Concise History of the Two Counties and a Genealogical and Biographical Record of Representative Families.djvu/85

56 COLUMBIA AND MONTOUR COUNTIES objecting to a grade crossing. The litigation ended by a decision oi the Supreme court that an overhead crossing must be provided, and this was accordingly done. This bridge is 1,226 feet long, with six spans, and is a fine structure of iron and steel.

Prior to the building of the Mifflin and Bloom bridges ferries were operated at Mifflinville, Lime Ridge, Espy and Bloomsburg.

In 1914 Columbia county has over two hundred bridges to keep in repair. Most of the smaller bridges arc being replaced by concrete structures which will last for ages with no repairs, one at Slabtown, over Roaring creek, built in 1913, is as fine an example of this class of bridge as can be found in the State.

BRIDGES AND THE FLOOD OF 1904

The Susquehanna valley was visited by a flood in January, 1904, which surpassed in extent any previous flood in this section. The river was gorged with ice, and the rapid rise of the water turned it from the channel out on the low lands all along the course of the river. The lower portions of Bloomsburg, Catawissa, Rupert, Espy, and all along the line, were submerged, and the trolley and railroads were unable to operate for three days. Great damage was done to property, but no lives were lost. The flood subsided without carrying away any of the river bridges, but the ice gorge still remained.

Only two weeks later the waters rose again, causing the greatest flood in the history of the valley. The first movement in the ice gorge was observed at Berwick on Tuesday, Feb. 9th, and the Berwick bridge was soon tom from the piers and toppled over into the raging flood. One span was carried down stream on the ice to Mifflinville. where it jammed into the uncompleted iron bridge, and carried off a span. The remaining spans soon followed. Of the other spans oi the Berwick bridge, one lodged near the Berwick falls and the others were carried downstream to a point near Briar Creek. The commissioners of Luzerne and Columbia counties at once decided to burn these spans to prevent their being carried down stream to do damage to the bridges below, and this was accordingly done.

For two weeks the flood conditions improved. There were warm rains which gave rise to the hope that this would rot the ice, so that it would break up and pass off without gorging. And then came a third flood, more disastrous than the first two, the water rising more than forty-one feet above the low water mark. When it is stated that in some places icebergs weighing many tons were left in fields a half mile away from the regular channel of the river, the extent of the flood may be more fully realized. All the railroads except the Bloomsburg & Sullivan were again out of commission, and great damage was done from one end of the valley to the other.

The Bloomsburg bridge seemed doomed, as the ice was up to the floor, but it escaped with only the west end being sprung out of place about three feet, and when the ice passed away it settled back into place.

The Catawissa bridge did not fare so well Two of the spans were carried off, and lay bent and twisted about one hundred yards be¬ low. The covered wooden bridge at the paper mill over Catawissa creek was swept away and lodged up against the Pennsylvania railroad bridge. By an agreement with the commissioners the railroad company was permitted to destroy it to save its own. Many other county bridges were also destroyed by this flood.

As previously stated, the Catawissa bridge was again erected by the State, and completed in 1908.