The River, the Rain, and the Raft
In the July 25 issue of the Fayette County Record, editor Jeff Wick wrote an article concerning a recent visit to the atrium in the county courthouse in La Grange. He stated that his family sat in the atrium to enjoy a snack and take in the relaxing scene. He also made mention in the article about a marker on the wall, in which he stated: “It’s cra- zy to think that flood waters in 1913 covered this entire
area as well as five feet on the first floor." With the recent tragedy in the Texas Hill Country, the word flood has been on the mind of the whole state, as well as our nation. Furthermore, the loss of life and property appears almost too much for a person to comprehend.
What’s more, the memory of the floodwaters caused by Hurricane Harvey in August 2017 may still be on the minds of those who lived through it. This Footprints of Fayette article will deal with the flood in 1913 and its direct effect on Fayette County and the surrounding counties.
The Colorado River is a major waterway that courses through the state, beginning south of Lub- bock, flowing southeast, and emptying into Matagorda Bay on the Texas coast.
It provides a scenic watercourse, a source of hydroelectric power, water for agricultural needs, as well as a source of recreation for the citizens. However, when the circumstances change, the river can dramatically change its appearance and peaceful personality.
That peaceful personality changed in December 1913. The La Grange Journal gave a full description of the flood in the Decem ber 18, 1913, edition. It stated that on Thursday afternoon, December 4, 1913, citizens in the low area near the river began packing and moving out. By Friday morning, December 5, Benno Harigel, the editor of the Journal newspaper, re- ported viewing three to five feet of water southward, as
far as his eye could see. He made this observation “ma- rooned" on the second floor of his father’s home on Travis Street. Later, the Bastrop Advertiser newspaper would report 13 ½ inches of rain had fallen within eight hours. The Wharton County area would report that the Colorado and Brazos Riv- ers would actually flow to - gether. After the flood, Mr.
Harigel also reported that over 50 homes in La Grange would be washed away or washed off their foundations. As suspected, several days were needed for the flood waters to drain off and the great cleanup to begin.
Included were instructions for the disinfecting of the buildings and instructions regarding how to dispose of dead animals. One issue that made the return to normal life so slow was the process of the drain-off to occur. This slow drain off may have had its origins several counties below Fayette County.
A little-known or less remembered aspect of the Colorado River is an issue that was not in Fayette County, but down in Matagorda County, where the river adjoins the Gulf waters. At issue was the giant raft on the river. The word raft implies logs lashed together, Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer, and lazy days on the water. However, the raft being addressed here is of a different kind.
A word search on the computer reveals that a raft (log jam) on a waterway is a dense accumulation of tree trunks and other debris that can become entangled or snagged. They can create upstream pools and dam the channel.
In 1690, Alonso De Leon, the first Spanish explorer to see the Colorado River, described an enormous ‘raft’ of logs, trees, and brush that had accumulated in the river.
The raft was reported in the La Grange Journal, July 30, 1925, as being 14 miles long.
(That would be approximately a distance from La Grange to the Colorado County line, driving through Ellinger on Highway 71.) The Bay City Sentinel would report that the raft had at one time been cleared up by the Army Corps of Engineers, “but since it was not maintained, the raft filled back up, and at its peak was over 40 miles in length, …so thick that trees were growing in it." It is like ly that Fayette and Colorado Counties had contributed to the raft with their own trees that had washed down the river during floods. Eventual ly, in the late 1920s, the State of Texas would provide funding to eliminate this problem.
The floods, whether in 1869, 1900, 1913, 1932, etc., all left their mark on the lands and the citizens of Texas, as well as Fayette County. Now, their marks in history are left in newspaper articles, history books, and plaques on walls. However, at one time, just as in the Texas Hill Country, the floods left a monumental and indelible mark on the people; this mark was left by the river, the rain, and the raft. As always, Texans are resilient and persevere to move forward.
Sources: texascounties.
net The Bay City Sentinel The La Grange Journal Wikipedia
