Mrs. Rafferty ran a shop in the Griff at Murray and Ottawa.
In 1885, 86, 87 floods ravaged the city.
People were panicking about those annual floods, that saw huge chunks of ice come onto the land. Some were bemoaning that the Lachine Canal hadn't been built- as was initially proposed - to start deep into the East End. Somebody proposed that everything south of Wellington be turned into wharves.
But dryer heads prevailed and a big 'ol ice barrier was put up, among other things, thus ending the problem with the floods.
As for ol' lady Rafferty, she died when she tripped and banged her head and fell into the five feet of water in her basement. Her son, who had been too sick to help out in the store, must have felt pretty bad.
People were panicking about those annual floods, that saw huge chunks of ice come onto the land. Some were bemoaning that the Lachine Canal hadn't been built- as was initially proposed - to start deep into the East End. Somebody proposed that everything south of Wellington be turned into wharves.
But dryer heads prevailed and a big 'ol ice barrier was put up, among other things, thus ending the problem with the floods.
As for ol' lady Rafferty, she died when she tripped and banged her head and fell into the five feet of water in her basement. Her son, who had been too sick to help out in the store, must have felt pretty bad.
Time was when springtime flooding by the St.Lawrence into Montreal and nearby suburbs was a regular and serious matter, just as we have seen recently along the Richelieu.
ReplyDeleteThere are photos of Victoria Square under water in the 1880's, and although it is difficult to imagine today, once upon a time Verdun and Pte. St. Charles, for example, would become inundated on a regular basis, mostly due to the fact that the river's edge was then much closer to today's existing streets.
See this article as one example:
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=WZljAAAAIBAJ&sjid=mi8DAAAAIBAJ&pg=1981,1366674&dq=floods+verdun&hl=en
In those days, the shoreline was poorly diked, if at all, and the rising water level--often including huge chunks of ice--would crash mercilessly and relentlessly right through any feeble structure with a vengeance, thus ruining dwellings and businesses even beyond Wellington Street!
Today, cyclists on the bike path south of LaSalle Boulevard have no idea that they are essentially riding along the top of a levee/landfill which was eventually built to prevent such flooding from ever happening there again.
Not only that, but the "Tail Race"--basically the overflow from the Montreal Water Works complex--used to be much longer and wider than what remains today--a small remnant of its former self--over which Wellington Street actually crossed via a bridge located approximately
near the southbound exit 60 of Highway 15 and west of Butler. It was also a notorious spot which claimed drowning victims over the years.
To visit what remains of the Tail Race today, one must walk east along the shoreline pathway south of the playground, veer behind Msgr. Richard School, clamber carefully through a wooded area behind the municipal snow dumping field and eventually descend a steep path to the fenced-off, murky brown, slow-moving body of water.
A few fishermen may be present, although who would want to eat any fish caught around there is beyond comprehension.