24 THE FT.OOn OP 1 843. 



property was swept away, and also a considerable portion of 

 the race, and several private bridges. Three stone dwellings 

 were partly carried away, and rendered complete wrecks. At 

 the large factor>' occupied by Dennis & Charles Kelly, the 

 stone picker house, with its contents, was swept off, and the 

 basement stor>- of the main building flooded. The flood 

 attained a height of sixteen and a half feet on these pre- 

 mises, and was at its greatest height at about a quarter past 

 eight o'clock. 



D. 61: C. Kelly also occupy the next mill property, which 

 is a large cotton factory belonging to the estate of Asher 

 Lobb, deceased. Their dam was carried away, the race 

 injured, and the lower story of the factory (used as a weaving 

 room) flooded, and one dwelling house carried away, caus- 

 ing the loss of five lives. The particulars of this catastrophe 

 will be detailed in another part of this report. The western 

 wing-walls of the bridge at this place with the filling, were 

 nearly all swept away, and two of the three arches greatly 

 injured. The height of the flood at this place was fourteen 

 feet, and the time of its greatest height, half past eight 

 o'clock. The dam of Matthew's paper mill was washed out 

 to the foundation, and a part of the race bank carried away. 

 The flood passed with violence through every aperture in the 

 lower story of the mill, doing great damage to the machinery 

 and stock on hand. The water rose to the height of fifteen 

 feet at this mill. Bonsall's mill dam and race were consider- 

 ably injured. The water was sixteen feet high in their 

 flour mill. 



Thomas Steel's dam, which is the last on the creek, was 

 carried away to the foundation, and his stable and cotton 

 house were removed. His mill was much flooded, the water 

 rising to the height of seventeen and a half feet, which is the 

 greatest height reached by the flood in Darby creek, and five 

 and a half feet higher than any flood recollected. The stone 

 bridge at Darby, which reached across the entire valley of the 

 creek, and which was built at a cost to the countv of eleven 



