Trail of Devastation Gradually Revealed As the Flood Waters Recede

This is a summary of an article that ran on the front page of the Asheville Citizen on July 18, 1916.

The article states that the death toll increased to 11; six of which were from Asheville, two from Hendersonville, and three from Marshall. $10,000 was raised by the flood relief committee. Four hundred people are homeless, 25 industrial plants and warehouses were partially or completely destroyed, all rail traffic is paralyzed. Property damage is estimated to be at least $3,000,000.

When counting damages in Transylvania and Madison counties, the estimated cost of the damages rises to over $10,000,000. The flood lasted from Sunday, July 16, 1916 to 1 a.m. July 18. The height of the flood is said to have beaten the previous record.

Mrs. Leo Mulholland and Ms Nellie Lipe were found alive. The Biltmore estate launched a relief effort to recover the bodies of the Walker sisters, a nurse employed at the Biltmore hospital, and a student.

The Carolina Special, a passenger train, was stranded just south of Marshall due to every bridge near the town being destroyed in the flood. Its passengers eventually arrived in Asheville late Monday evening. The area around Fletcher and the Buncombe-Henderson county line is “a veritable lake.” Witnesses say that an 8′ wall of water swept through the main street of Marshall when the flood hit.

Bat Cave is suspected to have been washed away. Hendersonville still has power and drinkable water. Three boys in a boat in Fletcher were swept away by the water, and are now missing. Stories of police-led and civilian rescue efforts continue to arrive. Roads between Asheville and the upper regions of the county are impassible due to the damage the roads suffered in the flood.

Information and supplies have been delivered by mule and horse. Azalea is destroyed, and its woodworking plant is a wreck. Swannanoa is badly damaged, but still holding on. Convict labor is being used to clear debris. A road is now open between Biltmore Village and the Henderson county line. Some electricity returned to downtown Asheville the night of July 17.

Both the old and new bridges in Marshall are gone. The railway station, cotton mill, and brick buildings are the only things still standing in Marshall. Survivors still in Marshall are in need of food, as all of it was washed away. A man named Lewis Foster gives his account of leaving Marshall and making his way to Asheville, describing it as the hardest journey of his life.

Chairman Harkins argues that employment must be secured for the men of flood-stricken families so that they don’t fall into poverty.

Photographs and documentation of Asheville’s 1916 flood are part of the “Come Hell or High Water” community memory project curated by Buncombe County Special Collections. View the collection at helenehistory.omeka.net.