In 1868, 'Black Friday Flood' rained down on Sykesville

In the early morning hours of Friday, July 24, 1868, a devastating flood wreaked havoc upon Sykesville.

The week of July 24 sounds much like the weather in recent days. According to a podcast by WYPR on Sept. 30, 2010, that recalled Baltimore's "Great Flood of 1868," "for weeks it had been 100 degrees or hotter with little rain …"

On May 4, 1997, Baltimore Sun writer Fred Rasmussen wrote that, in Baltimore, the "Black Friday Flood" of 1868 "claimed 50 lives, damaged some 2,000 homes and caused property damage estimated to be in the millions. Some 4,000 people were thrown out of work by the flood."

But the impact of the weather wasn't confined to Baltimore. The WYPR account describes a harrowing train trip during the flood:

"At 5:45 on the morning of July 24, 1868, an express train left Mount Airy for Baltimore …" with 60 passengers on board.

After it had only traveled about two- miles from Mount Airy toward Sykesville, the train became embedded in a mudslide.

The train had "come under a terrible storm-cloud. The sky grew black. Suddenly there was a deluge. It did not rain, said one passenger. 'It poured. As if a lake had fallen, en masse, upon us …' "

Rasmussen wrote, "Described as a 'freshet,' the flood began harmlessly as a heavy rain during the early hours of July 24. As the day wore on, Wagner-esque lightning tore the skies, barrages of thunder echoed throughout (the region) and the downpour continued."

According to research by local historian Mary Ann Ashcraft for the Historical Society of Carroll County, Westminster's now defunct Democratic Advocate reported, a week after the flood, "The destruction caused by the late flood at Sykesville is fearful.

"All the houses there have been entirely destroyed, and all that some persons owned has been swept away, and they are now houseless, homeless, and in absolute want for the necessaries of life."

A history of Sykesville, published on the town's website observes, "Most of the town was washed away during the flood of 1868 and recovery was slow, but with the steady stream of B&O traffic, the town was rebuilt on the Carroll County side of the Patapsco River.

"On a hill overlooking the town, St. Joseph's Catholic Church was built in time to see the lower portion of Sykesville swept away by the raging Patapsco."

When he is not taking precautionary swimming lessons, Kevin Dayhoff may be reached at kevindayhoff@gmail.com.