Flood Details - 1901-04-07 - 1901-04-12

Saint John River Basin: The ice began running on April 7. This was reported to be the earliest since 1846. On the Aroostook Branch, C.P.R., considerable ice was piled up on the tracks; while on the Tobique Valley Branch, the tracks were hardly damaged by ice. A mill on the Meduxnekeag River was swept away. The Meduxnekeag River also took out a mill dam and swept away one span of the railway bridge at Woodstock. Bridges were washed out at Nackawic and Keswick, while three bridges on the main highway from Woodstock to Fredericton were also carried away. These were the Longs Creek Bridge, the Kelly Bridge and the Garden Creek Bridge. Two ice jams occurred above Fredericton; one above and one below Springhill with open water in between. The ice swept over Sugar Island, demolishing 12 barns and tops of several boom piers at Douglas. All the islands and interval land in this reach of the Saint John River were under water. The Upper Mill was destroyed. In the Fredericton area, ice was piled up to a height of 40 to 50 feet on the old deepwater terminus of the C.P.R. at Gibson (Devon). Many warehouses and sheds along the waterfront in Fredericton were damaged by ice. The railway bridge pier on which the draw span rests was damaged. Many cellars in the City were flooded, as well as a portion of Brunswick Street between York and Regent Streets. Sunbury Street from Gas Alley to the residence of Dr. Bailey and all adjacent fields and yards were under water. The Canada Eastern Railway was under water at several points along the Nashwaak River. All the lowlands at Maugerville, Oromocto and Waasis were flooded and many cattle were reported drowned. In some cases, the lower floors of houses were flooded. Seven barns on Oromocto Island were destroyed. The wharf at Oromocto sustained damage and Stocker's Hotel was flooded, forcing lodgers to move to the second floor. At Burton, a sawmill was destroyed and a lighthouse at Gagetown was carried away. All telephone service to the area below Lincoln was disrupted. At Indiantown, the water had reached the lower portion of Bridge Street. Restigouche River Basin: The residents of Matapedia were anticipating a repetition of the flood during the spring of 1897. Miramichi River Basin: Ice ran in the main Southwest Miramichi River and jammed at various points. At Doaktown, ice damaged one of the bridge abutments. Some damage was reported to have occurred in the Chatham area. Magaguadavic River Basin: Flooding was reported throughout the Magaguadavic River Valley. At Brockway, several cellars were flooded. Trains on the Shore Line were operated on irregular schedules. At St. George, many homes on the interval land were evacuated because of the flooding. St. Croix River Basin: In the St. Croix River Basin, flooding was reported as being fairly severe. All C.P.R. trains in the area were cancelled due to washouts. At Milltown, the water was over the approach to the Upper Bridge. The Cotton Mill was closed because of the high water. A number of families were compelled to evacuate their homes while others were living on the second storey. At Union Mills, a boom broke releasing 250 000 feet [76 200 m] of logs, which went over the dam heading toward the sea. The logs crashed into the Union Bridge between St. Stephen and Calais carrying away the American end of the structure.

Heavy rains and breakup of the heavy ice cover resulted in ice jams occurring at Grand Falls, Springhill, Fredericton, just below Oromocto and at Currie on the Tobique River.

Saint John River Basin: The ice jam below Oromocto Island caused levels in the immediate vicinity to rise within 14 inches [0.36 m] of the 1887 flood level. St. Croix River Basin: The St. Croix River was reported as being higher than the big freshet of last October and probably higher than any time in the past.

Saint John River Basin: Extensive damages were reported to have occurred to mills, bridges, highways and agricultural lands. At Woodstock, the damage to the sawmill was estimated to be about $15,000 while the loss of logs was estimated to be in the order of $25,000.