A Brief History of Corning ,N.Y. Northside High School

1940 Floods Part II Rutty Passmore

from Lindley Presho Historical Society by Kitty Pierce

SATURDAY MORNING was pale as the valley was blanketed with a thick fog arising from the cold water. It continued to cover the valley until the warm rains and the thawing weather dissolved the fog.The rain continued and the river began to rise again, by 7 P.M. it was over the road agin by the schoolhouse and by ten it was over the road between Lindley and Lawrenceville for the first time.Traffic continued for the next hour or so. South bound trucks used the* back road connecting Morgan Creek Road and the Susquehanna Trail along the base of the hill during the night with only a few using the road going north.(* road was near old State Line Camping ) The York- Buffalo Lines instructed their trucks to travel by way of Elmira until the danger passed.
Water surrounded the home of Mr. and Mrs. Albert Lawrence ( *Morgan Creek Road in the field across diversion ditch by DeMunn's garage) marooning the family for the duration of the night.
Chicken coops became the scene of many cleanings by law- abiding "mauradeers, removing the fowls to higher places of safety .One popular man put his in crates and hung up the crates.

The water reached it's crest at 18.00 feet Sunday and slowly lowered until Morgan Creek Road and the road to Lawrenceville from Lindley could be negitiated by traveling through water at about noon Sunday.The lowering water revealed that the flood waters had bitten several sizable holes in the road for about five hundred feet in Morgan Creek near the Albert Lawrence residence. A heavy thaw and drizzling rain at noon brought the river to rising again.The temperature at one time on Sunday reached 58 degrees and aided materially to the river's height. By three o'clock Sunday afternoon, the road between Lindley and Lawrenceville became impassable ,the road north of the town never being open. Trucks Sunday that were too heavy to cross the bridges at Lindley and Presho were forced to use the Morgan Creek -connecting road with the main highway road.One low truck and eight wheeled trailor combination was too heavy to cross the bridge even though assured that the Lindley bridge (old iron bridge-built 1898)one time three years ago had twenty tons on it at one time.His outfit,he explained, weighed nearly twice that amount,the truck having a gross weight of 28 ton and the trailor a gross weight of 10 ton ,making a total of 38 ton. The load consisted of steel castings.The driver expressed fear that the dirt connecting road might fail ,the frost letting the truck through..Therefore he insisted that one truck proceed and 1 follow so that if he " fell through " he would be ready with help before he got in too deep. (doesn't say if he made it--- will check with Dick Riffle (age 93 )- memory still great) .
To be continued Photos Lindley Bridge 2010
2010 River Float from Wetlands -North of Lindley bridge