Exhibit - Marbletown's 300th Anniversary
A Record of the Great Snow Storm March 11, 1888
Transcription:
A Record of the great snow
storm of March 11th 1888
On March the 11th on the Sunday morning it snowed and
snowed all
day and at night some time the weather changed to cold
and windy
and in the morning there was a deep snow and the wind
blew very
hard and the snow drifted very bad. Elias Markle started
early in
the morning for Kingston he got as far as Thomas Westbrouck
and could
not get any farther neither could he return. He stayed
until Thursday an
then started back for home. The road was not opened
from Kripplebush
to Stone Ridge until Saturday afternoon and we had no
mail until
Saturday afternoon the 17th and then very bad in many
places. It was
the severest storm the oldest inhabitants had ever seen.
It was general
through out York and the Eastern States and many people
perished.
One man was found dead at the Shokan in the snow drift
on wednesday,
and one above Ellenville. The man at Ellenville left
his house to go
to the barn to do his work. He placed some kindle wood
in a bag
to take to the house. He lost his way, the bag was found
near the house
but the man was found some distance from the bag with
the wood. It was
a blinding storm. The roads from Kripple Bush to Stone
Ridge where
blockaded and on the 1st day of April the roads were
in a terrble
condition. On the 31st of March I started for the Stone
Ridge to meet with the
Town Board. I had to leave my hors at Thomas Westbroucks
and go on
foot, the roads where so bad. The snow drifts were 3
and 4 feet deep
and some places 5 and 6 feet deep and in places where
the snow had
been shoveled out the wagon wheels cut down to the axels
and the
horses broke through so it was dangerous to travel.
Preserve this for coming generations to see.
Simon P. Lyons
Strange fall and winter
The fall of 1888 was one of the most sunny seasons there
was ever experienced in this section of the country.
Many of the farmers was unable to finish their sowing after the grown
was plowed
on account of the rain the land not being in the condition
to sow
and the winter being equally strange the roads where
in a turble
condition most of the time Mud as in the spring it would
freeze
up for a week and then turn warm and rainy and the frost
was
in and out 4 or 5 times up to January the 12th 1889
Jan 8, 9, 10
the roads where almost impassable it being mud and slush
Some farmers sowed rye in January 1889 and there was
considerable
plowing done there has been no snow of any account-
only to
a little bit but soon disappeared but plenty of rain
causing the roads
and bad roads on the evening of the 12 & 13 it froze
so as to very
near hold the wagon on the top but no snow and the weather
was
moderate on the morning of the 14th on the 17th the
frost was entirely out
of the ground and the road was in a turble condition
Mud
6 inch deep most all over on the 18th it grew colder
on the 19 & 20
it was very cold and in the after noon of the 20 it
began to snow
and on the morning of the 21st there was between 6 and
8 inches of snow
but the weather had moderated there was about 3 days
sleighing
and Sunday the 27 it rained all day and the 28 &
29 it was
grown cold but not winterish.
