Ligonier Valley Rail Road Newspaper Articles
We have compiled over 1,400 newspaper articles that mention the Ligonier Valley Railroad, or related subjects. The articles were originally published starting in 1873 and our collection runs through 1995. Enjoy!
Ligonier Echo
Wednesday, March 27, 1912
Mighty Flood Of Rushing Waters
Heavy Downpour Of Rain And Melting Snow Cause High Waters And Big Damages
Loyalhanna And Mill Creek Break All Past Records
Last Wednesday evening the rain commenced in Ligonier valley which kept up all night and most of next day in a regular downpour which caused the local streams to rise and overflow their banks, doing considerable damage in many cases. It is claimed by those who have been giving the matter some attention that both the Loyalhanna and the Mill Creek broke all previous records. There is no dispute about the Mill Creek being higher than ever known, some claim that they have known the Loyalhanna to be higher once or twice previous. This, however, may have been caused by the old dam below the bridge at the former Freeman flouring mill which has been torn away for several years. The Loyalhanna between Ligonier and Latrobe was higher than ever known, covering the railroad track of the L. V. R. R. in several places to considerable depth. There was a wonderful volume of water passed down our streams during Thursday. It is 34 years since the building of the L. V. R. R. and never before, excepting by an ice gorge a few weeks ago, was the road interfered with by high flood of waters. Thursday morning the rain was coming down in torrents and the two creeks meeting below town were rising at the rate of almost a foot an hour. The morning 7:10 o'clock train on the L. V. R. R. did
not get away, from the local station until about 8 o'clock and on account of obstructions washed on the track did not get to Latrobe until 10 o'clock and in making the return trip found the track overflowed in number of places and two or three washouts so that the
train did not get back to Ligonier until late in the afternoon and owing to damage to the track in washouts did not make the evening trip to Latrobe but was running again as usual on Friday. One man informed us that there was fully 100 acres covered by water around
Idlewild. Evidences of the big flood could be seen along the L. V. R. R. Friday of rubbish, cottages, etc., washed down the stream. The low ground along the Loyalhanna south of town and along the Mill Creek north of town was a regular sea of waters.
There was considerable damage caused by the rain and high waters, chiefly in
destruction of bridges, fences and roads on low ground. The bridge on the pike east of town at the C. C. Menoher farm was torn out by the wild rush of water, the stone abutment of western end was washed out and many of the stones carried into the field below by the great force of the flood. This bridge is now being repaired temporarily until the waters go down. Several other bridges of the valley have been washed away or destroyed. A number of fields were badly washed out, notably one of E. B. Shaffer south of town was considerably damaged, much of the surface being carried down on and across the state road. It is reported that a cow was seen floating down the Mill Creek Thursday forenoon and that the horses at Bells station belonging to the Chautauqua Consolidated Ice Co. were in danger of drowning and that the water was within two feet of the Ligonier iron bridge and half way up the stable at the Jos. L. Huston farm at edge
of town, also many cellars of town were badly flooded in some instances, the water flowing out at the cellar windows. It was a hard test of water pipes and cellar drainage.
The flood and its accompanying destruction extended over Western Pennsylvania. The
waters of the Allegheny river registered 28 feet at Pittsburgh and would have been much higher had not cold weather set in Thursday evening. Thousands of dollars worth of property was destroyed by the rushing torrents of flood of waters. Even small streams became raging torrents of destruction.