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L/hatham ((w? olanketeer
Vol. 6 AUGUST 19, 1940 No. 17
Old Mill Is Damaged In Record Flood
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The Scouring and Carbonizing Plant (old mill) has seen water like this before, but the flood
rose higher than in 1916. When this picture was taken the flood had not reached its highest point,
going about a foot higher than is shown. Lower photo was made looking east on East Main street. So
rapidly did the water rise the operators of the two gasoUne stations were caught napping. The
smoke stack and part of the old mill can be seen in background at extreme right.
History repeated itself Wednes
day morning, August 14, when
the angry Yadkin river came
roaring through Elkin to do
damage estimated at half a mil
lion dollars. July 17, 1916, the
flooded waters rose 8 ft. higher
than the flood of 1898, and this
time it was 18 inches higher
than in 1916.
The mill property damage in
1916 amounted to $100,000.
Eleven two horse wagons were
used to move out of the old mill
in ’16. This time five trucks,
with a crew of one hundred men,
were used.
Twenty-six houses were swept
away in 1916, while this time
there was only one dwelling
house, that of Zada Payne on the
south side of the Yadkin. How
ever, the homes of Luther Hem-
ric, Lum Shores, Albert Castev-
ens, Dewey Rash and Miss Laura
Masten were damaged consider
ably. Several of the employees
who had farms along the river
and creek bottoms were com
pletely wiped out.
The Scouring and Carbonizing
departments (old mill) were un
der water to the fourth floor. The
crew started moving wool at three
o’clock in the morning and with
the assistance of the CCC boys
soon had the wool and as much
machinery as possible moved into
a safe place. Wool wa^ moved
from the lower warehouse on
Main street and piled on the
lawn of Mrs. Rich Chatham s
j^ome. The old shoe factory
warehouse, which contained cot
ton and wool, was damaged con
siderably due to the rising Elk
Creek and the washing out of a
dam ■ above the shoe factory.
A large oil tank floated down
the river and lodged against the
ball park. It came in contact
with a live wire, exploded and
burned to the ground the new
baseball park, grandstand, bath
house and lockers. The damage
w^s estimated at $4,000.
The town of Elkin’s loss was
estimated at one-half million dol
lars.
The flood reached its crest
around noon Wednesday. How
ever, the water did not recede so
that people could get across the
Elk creek to West Elkin until
around five o’clock. Traffic was
held up across the Hugh Chat
ham Memorial bridge for five
hours, due to five large tanks
(Continued on Page Six)