THE AIRSHIP VISITS WILLIAMSTON

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(Special to the [Wilmington] Messenger.)

            Williamson [Martin County]  N. C., April 14 [1897].—The mysterious airship seen at Wilmington and other points was observed here last night about 9 o’clock. When first noticed it appeared as a black mass against the moon-lit sky, going slowly from South to North. Its altitude was not great, being near enough to enable the observer to discern outlines of its rigging with the naked eye. As it passed over the town it ascended rapidly and a brilliant light was thrown out far ahead of it. The light was seen by some who could not, on account of the great height it had attained, catch the faintest glimpse of the aerial machine. If it should appear again there will be many to behold it as people are much interested and will watch for its re-appearance. — News and Observer (Raleigh, NC) 16 Apr 1897

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            The airship was first seen in North Carolina at Wilmington [New Hanover County] about April 5, 1897. The Semi-Weekly Messenger of that city reported that hundreds of people watched as the brilliant mass floated from east to west across the sky. “Many persons saw net-work about the aerial wonder.” Watchers with field glasses observed its wires, ropes and rigging and all were amazed by its powerful searchlight.

            The mysterious airship was next seen at Goldsboro [Wayne County] about April 9^th or 10^th. The Press-Visitor of Raleigh [Wake County] said: “Those who saw the object describe it as a great light moving rapidly from east to west.”

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Found at http://www.angelfire.com/ma4/oddities/airship.html

            On April 13 The Press-Visitor in Raleigh carried the following article:

THE AIRSHIP.

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Arrangements Made for Its Appearance Tonight.

            The Press-Visitor this afternoon completed arrangements by which the air-ship will appear over Raleigh at 3 o’clock tomorrow morning.

            Efforts were made to secure its appearance here on a dark night, but the dates were all taken save tonight. This will prevent Raleigh, owing to the moon-light, from having quite as good a view as some other towns.

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            Apparently the mysterious airship had an identity by this time. The Press-Visitor reported that many saw the airship pass over the city. It was identified as “the first automobile dirigible balloon ever invented which is a success. It is simple in its construction. It consists of an elliptical gasbag 128 feet in length and a car weighing 45 pounds. It is constructed on the aeroplane system, and operates perfectly. [This is 6 years before the Wright brothers first flew an ‘aeroplane’ over the sandy beach of NC.] The machine is operated by an electric storage battery and propeller. Its lifting power depends upon the number of cubic feet of gas in the bag."

            This announcement this did not stop the speculation. The airship continued to be spotted and by the time it was seen over Kenly [Johnston, Wilson Counties] about April 22, watchers saw sails and (very clearly) two men. 

            The Kenly sighting was the last reported in local newspapers throughout the months of April and May of 1897. The excitement had run its course.

CYCLONE STRIKES OXFORD

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Great Damage to Property

RALEIGH, N.C., May 3, [1896]. -- At 4 o'clock this afternoon the citizens of Oxford, [Granville County], a town about forty miles from this city on the Oxford and Clarksville [VA] Railroad, observed a heavy black cloud approaching from the southwest. The weather has been wet and blustery for three days. The cloud became blacker and denser, and just before 5 o'clock a roar was heard and all at once wind, rain, and hail dashed over the town.

The wind was terrific. Houses were blown down, trees were torn up by the roots, and the hailstones were much larger than usual and covered the ground to a depth of four inches and broke almost all the window panes in the town. The rain fell in sheets and torrents, so that the darkness was complete. The terrible rush of wind did not last longer than fifteen minutes, but the rain and hail continued for a much longer period.

It was soon ascertained that great damage to property had been done, and people who ventured out into the darkness, surrounded by the debris of houses, trees, fences, telegraph poles, and tin from the housetops. About 6 o'clock the rain and hail ceased, and there was a rift in the clouds, and the disaster could be seen.

The storm had swept from southeast to northeast across the town, leaving a mark about 400 yards wide. In this space the frame houses had suffered most. A number were blown down and the timbers blown away. The brick houses were unroofed.

A number of people are known to have been injured, one colored man fatally. The damage to property is estimated at $200,000. The track of the storm was from Oxford to Henderson, [Vance County], on the Raleigh and Gaston Railroad, and from there, north, down the railroad to Greystone [Vance County]. The distance from Oxford to Henderson is twelve miles, and the swath cut was from a quarter to half a mile wide. It presents the appearance of having been burned and swept. The trees have been torn up and the limbs blown off the trunks, and the pathway looks like a road that has been cleared of stumps and everything else.

The town of Henderson had the same experience as Oxford. Ten people are known to have been injured, four seriously. Greystone is a small railroad station. All the houses were blown down. There is a granite quarry there, and a squad of convicts have been worked. Three-quarters of the log houses were razed to the ground. A number of convicts were hurt.

It is learned that there was a second blow, but it knocked down the poles and wires, and no further news can be had to-night. There must have been another current of wind, because at sundown in this city the clouds had disappeared and the heavens appeared to be filled with leaves, and it was remarked that there had been a cyclone somewhere not very far distant. The blew a gale here, but did no damage.

[From a May 4, 1893 article in the New York Times.

The story is posted at the North Carolina Railroads website at: http://www.carolana.com/NC/Transportation/railroads/nc_rrs_oxford_clarksville.html]

TRAIN WRECKED

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Too Much Weight

            Last Thursday morning passenger train NO. 20 from Kinston was derailed and wrecked 2 miles south of Grifton. It was caused by the track spreading, perhaps, owing to recent rains. Engine and tender, baggage car and second-class car went  off the track. The first class coach went down an embankment ten or fifteen feet. Several passengers were in it and it is almost miraculous that all escaped unhurt save a few bruises. Extra trains were made up and run during the day.

             Will Russ accounts for the turning over of the first-class coach in the derailment this way. He says: "There was a fat lady on one side of the coach and I happened to step across to speak to her when the whole thing turned right over."  There is some weight in this.

This is a circus train that wrecked in Nevada in 1893.
Taken from History Hwy. 49 website: http://www.historichwy49.com/hisphotos.html

[Taken from The Wilson Advance (Wilson, NC) 3 Sep 1891]