March to commemorate the great flood of 1916
Marshall
NC 28753
USA
In Marshall, July 1916 the great flood invaded Marshall. It inundated all but three buildings, washed away as many as 53 homes, destroyed two bridges and ripped up large sections of the railway.
The water rose from a normal stage of about 2 feet to more than 20 feet in about 16 hours. It covered the railroad tracks 7 to 8 feet deep and covered Main Street 5 feet deep. It raced along at 5 feet per second on Main Street and 18 feet per second in the river channel.
In addition, to the destruction of property, Marshall lost two downtown business people: Altha Briggs and James Guthrie. Virginia Lapham, their family member, will be joining us for this memorial.
We will all congregate at the courthouse at 12 pm. When the clock begins to chime, for the noon hour, we will walk silently across to the middle of the bridge. After reflecting on the horror, that our town went through during this storm, we will throw flowers into the river. Tim Malone, President of the DMA, will be positioning a boat in the river for Friday, Saturday and Sunday, It will have a light shining the whole time to honor our town and the people lost.
We have a DMA working on putting tape on some buildings downtown so you can see with your own eyes how high the water was.
This memorial is one of many gatherings that will be taking place over this week end. On Sunday, The Depot will having a talk about the flood.