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1871 STORM
THE STORM
During the whole of
last week there was a stiff breeze from the north-east, and on Saturday a
slight rain began to fall, which increased on Sunday to a steady and heavy
rain that lasted all day Sunday, and until about
three o’clock
on Monday morning, when the wind changed to the northwest, and the storm
began to abate. On Sunday the waters of the bay became very high, and on
Sunday night, an overflow commenced.
THE OVERFLOW
The Beach portion of
the city was overflowed in some places as far as
Chaparral street,
and in some of the streets, the water rose to a depth of a foot and not
entirely subside, until Monday evening.
DAMAGE IN HARBOR
Three small vessels
were stranded, the bottom of Gould’s boat being knocked out, and two large
schooners in the bay, broke loose from the wharves a part of their
fastenings, and were obliged to cut the rest and swing to their anchors.
DAMAGE IN THE CITY
The water undermined a
house situated near the bay, belonging to Mr. E.D. Sidbury, so that the
ground on which it stood, gave way and tumbled the house into the bay bottom
side upwards. The supports of one of our wharves were weakened by the
forces of the tide and waves, so that a portion of it caved in. Fences were
washed down’ much of the lumber in the yards of Messrs. Staples & Co. and
Mr. Jordan was floated away and mixed up with other floating debris, and
large quantities of shell and sand were washed up along the beach.
DAMAGE AT THE
RINCON
At the immediately
above the city, ten of the telegraph poles were prostrated, the wires broken
in two places, and its ends floated out into the bay and buried ten feet in
the same. A small bayou above the
wharf of M. Headen &
Son, and a lake on this side of it, were washed into the deep ravines,
connecting Nueces Bay with Corpus Christi Bay, and gave a delta to the
Nueces river; and the flat in the vicinity was overflowed so as to form
quite a lake. The ravines made as above stated, cut off the Rincon, or city
of Brooklyn, from this city, and the water in it ran so high on Monday, that
the butchers, who had their slaughter horses at the Rincon were unable to
cross it and bring their meat to market, and they are now obliged to cross
it in boats in order to get it to this city.
REMARKS
The damage done by the
storm here was small, but more than has been done here for a number of
years. It is a noteworthy fact that
Corpus Christi seems
to be out of the track of the storms that so frequently visit the Texas
coast, but yet so near their path that it receives their spent force.
Source:
Nueces
Valley,
October 7,
1871, p. 3, col 2
Research by: Msgr.
Michael A. Howell
Transcription by:
Geraldine D. McGloin,
Nueces County
Historical Commission
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