George Demott's Notes to Dean

 

George Demott's Notes to Dean 

In 1968, I started to collect information for aiding someone that would write a short history of Millvillle for the Bi-centennial in 1972. One of the people that was regarded as an expert on local history was George H. DeMott. He supplied a string of material and advice. He had sent much of his collection to the Columbia Co. Historical Society , but had retained some items and had a great memory. I will copy some of our communications here from time to time.

The first is a three page letter during May of 1970.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Bicentennial Flood of 1972

The book, Millville The First 200 Years, was published in the spring of 1972. As a result, most of the really interesting things that happened during the rest of the year is lost. Several short reports should be made available on these occurrences. The Bi-centennial celebration itself is missing. Here is a record of the strange weather event of 1972.

The Bi-Centennial Flood

        June 1972

This flood came at a very critical time for the Millville community. The main programs for the community’s two-hundredth celebration were to proceed during the next several days. The early functions had started in May, but the big productions were to be held around the fire company’s carnival that was to be staged over the week that included the 4th of July.

The hurricane, which had formed in the Atlantic, had moved erratically on and off the east coast with varying speeds and intensity. Hurricane Agnes came onshore over the Florida Panhandle during the afternoon of June 19th. The storm weakened to tropical depression status over the Carolinas, only to re-intensify to tropical storm strength as it reached the Virginia coast on the 21st. The storm then moved North, weakening to extra-tropical strength as it passed just west of New York City before re-curving to the West across Central New York state. The storm then looped back to the East, crossing Northern Pennsylvania before dissipating.

This weakening on the 20th was a relief to the planners and the carnival organizers. It was decided that it had rained many years in the past, and the show had always gone on. But.

https://www.weather.gov/ctp/Agnes

It had been raining and it increased in intensity throughout the day. Little Fishing Creek had started to raise from what had been its normal end-of-June trickle.

The town had started to plan for these events in late 1970. The town council appointed a commission that met on Jan. 25, 1971, to start the planning. So, to call off what had taken years to plan was a very hard decision. Then the forecast changed.

https://www.weather.gov/ctp/Agnes

During the evening of June 21st, the bigger Fishingcreek at Orangeville (the closest stream gage to Millville, about 8 miles to the east) was discharging at 9.9 cubic feet per second (cfs). A rather normal flow for that time of year. It had been at 0.7 cfs at 8 am so it was slowly rising during the day from the rain in the front coming off the Great Lakes. The same was happening at the bridge at the mill in town. At 7 pm the flow increased to 25 cfs. At 8 pm it hit 63 cfs and then started dropping as the rain that had collected by the creek north from the mountains around Grassmere had passed. As this front passed with its rain, the temperature dropped from a daytime high in the 70s to the 50s.

By Thursday morning the 22nd it was obvious that a new storm would deliver much more rain. By 8 am, 6 to 8 inches had fallen in the central Pennsylvania area. It had risen slowly over the evening and night. At 4:30 am, the gage jumped to a flow of 230 cfs on Fishingcreek. Local town officials were at the bridge watching as trees and other jetsam roared on toward Bloomsburg. The wind was rising and by daylight, the tents and displays at the town park were being blown around. Reports show that the winds at the park never reached anything close to 70 mph elsewhere, it did challenge some structures. Several were upset or otherwise stressed.

It then increased rain throughout the day and into the evening. At 9 pm the stream gage on Fishingcreek was inundated at the gage house as it rose, the maximum rate was 487. Records report from the manual observation there by 11 pm, the high-water mark was reached as measured in the gage house at 15.16 feet with an estimated flow rate of 30,900. From other reports, this flow rate seems high, but the Weather Service does show that the cumulative rainfall in the area had exceeded 15 inches by Friday night. Although the water in Little Fishingcreek did not directly match the other, it did come up and then moderated later in the day. It then increased raining lightly throughout the day and into the evening. This was falling north of the town from Pine Township and northwestern Greenwood. Although it had eased in that area the runoff was already moving to create trouble for the town.

https://www.weather.gov/ctp/Agnes

The gauge at Fishing creek appears to have failed to recover to an accurate reading for at least a day. It dropped from the manually recorded level to a gage recording of 101 cfm at midnight. It recorded flows of 100 cfm or less for two days.

While this was going on, the creek kept rising on Little Fishing creek. By noon on Friday the 23rd, it had filled the creek bed at the town line at Iola. Water was being rammed into the receiving end of the raceway just above the dam. It was running over the banks onto route 42 right-of-way, As the southern direction of State Street into town was a little higher, the water started south on Chestnut Street. It filled the basements of the homes at the north end of Chestnut and overflowed the fields between Chestnut and State. When the flow got to Batten Run it joined that rush and forced some water on south on State. The water in Batten Run was well over its banks and flooded the basements of the homes on all sides.

As it joined the raceway that fed the mill pond it forced water over the west bank. It ran across the pasture and parking lot at Girton Manufacturing Co. This lot was also a staging area for farm bulk cooling tanks waiting to be shipped to customers. The tanks were individually mounted on wooden skids and had natural buoyancy. As the water rose from the accumulation and the following-on-supply more and more tanks began to float and move west across the lot, around the main plant building, and toward the rushing creek from which had earlier escaped. It filled the millpond to overflow. Water ran over the banks between the two spillways into the very high creek.

Several employees at Girton’s had remained at the plant to assist in flood preparation. The doors on Third Street were blocked or sandbagged. As the tanks started to float away, several employees that had moved their vehicles up Third Street brought them back along Third Street and hooked chains to the skids, dragging them up the street out of harm. Others stood in the water and held or pushed them till they were docked on the street where they could be relocated. Only one tank (a research unit stored in the pole shed to the north of the main plant) was lost to the surge. It was located a mile downstream at the “rocks.” Water climbed up and into the Boy Scout Hall and covered most of the two outlying production sheds along the banks west of the main plant.

There was a serious concern that the bank at the point east of the mill toward Main Street might fail. If this was breached, the major contents of the dam would spill onto Main Street and then be limited by the highway bridge height from returning west in front of the mill immediately into the stream. It would have flooded the homes in the immediate area including the two mill homes on either side of the street. It would then have to wind a way south through the low-lying portion of the west side of the creek. The dam breast held, and little water found a way into the mill proper.

https://www.weather.gov/ctp/Agnes

The flood receded slowly at first and then quietly returns to its banks. By evening most of what was left was mud. Mud everywhere in and on the northwest end of town. The carnival grounds were soaked and very muddy. Shavings were renewed over most of the grounds as some had been washed down the streets toward the creek. The temperature had fallen from the 70s in the daytime before the first rains to the 50s after the front passed eastward from the Great Lakes. The temperature was improving into the 70s again. This was helping with the drying.

On Saturday morning June 24th another discussion was held with the Commission leaders and the fire company. The carnival was scheduled to start on Monday the 3rd. There was still time to get everything on the grounds set. An affair for the Centennial was to be held in the fire hall on Saturday the 24th. One concern was whether anyone would be able or willing to travel.

A decision was made to continue.

https://www.weather.gov/ctp/Agnes

https://www.weather.gov/ctp/Agnes

The celebration drew the largest crowd over the summer ever to visit Millville. The firemen's carnival had the most successful event till that date and the community showed little long-term damage in the days that followed.

Copyright by Dean B. Girton August 31, 2022

Written by Dean B. Girton during the summer of 2022 v2