Bob Cox, Johnson City Press, 06-18-2007
The worst flood in Johnson City history occurred on May 29, 1908, as noted by a June 1959 TVA report, “Floods on Brush Creek in Vicinity of Johnson City, Tennessee.” Although there are no official records of floods prior to 1901, entries in diaries and other historical resources mention deluges in 1790, 1817, 1835, 1847, 1848, 1851, 1861, 1875, 1901, 1908, 1912, 1916, 1919, 1922, 1932, 1938, 1949, 1951, 1955 and 1956.
The report states that Brush Creek has a drainage area of 3.4 square miles for a watershed about 16 miles long and two miles wide. There were 29 road and 14 railroad bridges over the creek within a span of 8.75 miles. Brush Creek flooding affected an area in the city’s downtown business district of approximately 1,000 feet by 1,000 feet. The only other area prone to flooding was the Embreeville Junction flood plain.
The sudden cloudburst on May 29, 1908 west of the city caused Brush Creek to rise 12 feet above its banks and spill over onto W. Main Street for a distance of 300 yards. Two businesses, Standard Oak and Veneer and Alan Panel companies, experienced uninsured damage losses of $10,000 after water covered the plant floors and adjacent stockrooms. Many residential cottages and a few small store buildings had to be vacated; those occupants who lingered were rescued by boat. Smaller structures were toppled or swept away by the rushing water.
T.E. Hurst lost one and a half carloads of sugar. H.W. Pardue lost 3,000 pounds of flour and two carloads of sugar. The Coca Cola Bottling works experienced damages of about $500. The Standard Oil Company helplessly watched several hundred empty barrels drift away. The storm cost M.I. Gump several hundred dollars from damage to his inventory of oils, vinegar and crocks that were stored in his cellar.
Water seeped into the machinery at the Watauga Electric Company causing a power interruption until about 10:00 pm; damage was estimated to be in the hundreds of dollars. The ice company’s loss aggregated $200. The Watauga Tannery, Johnson City Foundry and Machine Shops suffered about $300 damages. The Embreeville branch of the Southern Railway was badly washed out for eight miles. Many bridges were damaged and much track was ripped away from the ties.
Sam R. Taylor of the Johnson City Furniture Company once lived in a house on the northwest corner of Market and McClure streets at the former site of The Little Market and adjacent to Hicks Produce. Sam remembered the water from the 1908 flood reaching the floor level of his home, which was 2.5 feet above the street. Taylor further recalled that Main and Market streets crossed the creek on timber bridges and that both washed away during the horrific flood. The Main Street bridge almost hit the porch at it drifted past his house.
The businessman recalled that there were about three residences, two livery stables, one brick building and one large frame structure in the Main and Market streets area between the railroad tracks and Boone Street. Sam stated that City Hall at the corner of Boone and Main streets was built about 1907. Across Market Street from it was a large frame building known as “The White Elephant.” Several streets around the Southern Railway station were heavily flooded, but fortunately, no damage was done to the main line. The damage to area cornfields was considerable; much topsoil was dispersed as the lowlands were entirely inundated.
The most dramatic event of the May 29 weather diversion was a funnel shaped cloud that quickly passed through the city destroying a barn and lifting a large cherry tree and several apple trees out of the earth. One tree was dropped in a nearby wheat field. According to one newspaper account, the final assault was on John Saylor’s barn, lifting it from the earth just long enough for a horse and calf to escape unharmed and then dropping it to earth, giving the appearance of a crushed eggshell.
The storm was said to have moved on to “no one knows whither.” This would not be the last big downtown overflow because, within four years, another one would come roaring through the city and again upset little Brush Creek from its peaceful slumber.
(Photos are from the Burr Harrison Collection, Archives & Special Collections, East Tennessee State University.)
boblcox@bcyesteryear.com
|
