George W. Childs raft crossing Elk Creek in the Great Flood of 1889
On May 31, 1889, all Western Pennsylvania was under water from incessant rain as much as 36 inches at Smethport. This rain/flood event created at Johnstown the most destructive flood in American history when the South Fork Dam collapsed destroying most of Johnstown with a loss of 2,209 lives.
At Ridgway, the Clarion River went over the Main Street Bridge washing half of the iron structure downstream. The flood waters backed up over the lower part of town to the present site of the Presbyterian Church. The water likewise was over the Broad Street and Depot Street bridges rendering them unsafe for crossing. The timber King Post bridge across Elk Creek just East of the mouth of Mohan Run halfway on the dirt road between Ridgway and Daguscahonda was washed out, this was the bridge over Elk Creek on Route 120 prior to the building of the concrete Will Dickinson bridge, one of forty-three bridges built by Mr. Dickinson in Elk County. Observers at the time said that Elk Creek was wild.
At 7:00 a.m. on May 31, 1889 at the Eagle Valley Tannery, largest tannery in the United States at that time caught fire believed to have been caused by a watchman’s oil lantern up set causing tan bark dust to explode causing the gigantic fire. Ridgway fire companies could not reach the fire due to the flood waters.
George W. Childs father of Neal Childs part owner and General Manager of the Tanning Extract Works in Daguscahonda in partnership with Jackson S. Schultz of New York was notified of the fire at the Eagle Valley Tannery by telegraph. He set out by horse and buggy for Ridgway on the then muddy and rutted road. On the other side of Elk Creek, a fast horse and buggy were waiting for Mr. Childs. At the flooded Creek, some woodsmen accompanying Mr. Child in another rig hastily built a raft. The woodsmen and Mr. Childs made a perilous crossing of the swift brown flood. Mr. Childs reached the scene of the fire by mid-morning and took charge of the fire fighting. The plant was almost a complete loss and several men lost their lives and several survivors were badly scared for life. Mr. Childs and several of the men were unable to return home for several days because of the flood waters over all the bridges. On the third or fourth day the men were able to cross the Depot Street bridge whose piers had remained intact in a high box wagon even though water was still flooding over the bridge high enough to reach the fetlocks of the horses.
Neal Childs was a small boy of five years old and remembered well the raging flood waters in both Elk Creek and Clarion River. In the Clarion Neal recalled seeing several houses, barns and outbuildings floating down on the brown flood. On one chicken house a half dozen fowls were riding on the roof top destined for who knew where.