Recent Posts
More on the 1882 Devastating Collapse of White Rock (aka The Sentinel, White Rock Summit, White Rock Peak) July 28, 2014 Weather - In January, 2010, I wrote an article about the collapse of White Rock Summit on Buffalo Mountain that occurred Jan. 25, 1882. A few newspapers from around the country and one from Mexico began to slowly report the news. An Old Newspaper Reports the Collapse of White Rock on Buffalo Mountain Roughly 750 Johnson City… Continue Reading
Boone Lake Area Hit by Ferocious Storm in March 1955 March 3, 2014 Weather - On Tuesday, March 1, 1955, turbulent winds from a funnel-shaped cloud ripped off roofs demolished barns and turned boats upside down in the Boone Lake area. According to the Weather Bureau at Tri-Cities Airport, although winds ranged as high as 80 miles per hour, no injuries were reported in the brief, yet violent storm. Reports… Continue Reading
1940 Elizabethton Storm Claimed Lives, Damaged Property August 13, 2012 Weather - On August 14, 1940, a devastating flood occurred in Elizabethton, brought about by a massive overflow of the mountain-fed Watauga River. The 24-hour torrential rain was the remnant of a 91-mph hurricane that, after pounding the South Carolina and Georgia coasts, took direct aim at East Tennessee. The Watauga, normally a peaceful mountain stream about… Continue Reading
Baby Rescued from Destructive Flood on Holston River in 1901 November 15, 2010 Weather - The Tennessee Valley Authority, a federally owned corporation, was formed in 1933 with a five-fold purpose: flood control, power generation, economic development, river navigation and fertilizer manufacturing. Timing was ideal due to massive flood problems over the years and a country trying to survive the Great Depression. TVA served most of Tennessee; parts of Alabama,… Continue Reading
Robert Fickle’s Diary Spoke of Floods along Brush Creek September 20, 2010 Weather - Brush Creek is a stream of water that is very familiar to Johnson Citians, largely because of its long history of flooding. The name is reported to have originated with Abraham Jobe who owned land along the creek in what became the business section of the town. He once related that a heavy mass of… Continue ReadingSpurgeons Island Was Scene of Harrowing Experience April 24, 2006 Weather - In a previous column, I described Spurgeon’s Island near Gray, TN as having been a popular “lovers’ lane” of yesteryear. Kathy Reed sent me a September 25, 1936 Johnson City Beacon newspaper clipping bearing the title, “Gray Station Folk Hearing Again of Miracle of 1901.” The account referenced a yellowed-with-age June 13, 1901 Johnson City Staff… Continue Reading