By AGNES “PAT” PFLEUGER

The village of Silver Creek, situated on the flat shore of Lake Erie and surrounded by higher elevations, has down through history often been subjected to disaster floods.

One in the spring of 2009 destroyed homes, an entire trailer park and the Village Public Works Department. At the present time, the village is having problems with the disposal of overflow water into the disposal system. It has been recommended to update the present system.

A different but water-related problem hit the village during the 1960s when it had no sewage disposal plant and was cited by the state Environmental Protection Agency for dumping raw sewage into Lake Erie waters.

Much of it was waste from the local canning factory.

An early major flood, which affected Silver Creek in the spring of 1881, occurred when a dam in the Arkwright Hills burst, sending millions of gallons of water southward. Just above Forestville, Walnut Creek turned into a raging torrent.

Two miles out of the village, it swept away a dam, an iron bridge and the foundations of a tannery and flour mills.

A sawmill lost 4,000 feet of lumber and 50 beehives with bees. Heavy factory machinery was torn loose by the force of the current and hurled into the surrounding woods.

The swollen waters continued on their wild path of destruction toward Silver Creek, where it demolished the Silver Creek Andrus Dam and covered the area known as “the Flats.” The villagers fled their homes and an unestimated amount of food was lost in flooded cellars.

Later, tales of heroism came out of the disaster, but the award for perseverance might have been given to a nameless local little mongrel dog known only as “Jackle’s dog.”

At the height of the storm, the little canine attempted to cross above the dam. The current was too much for him and forced him back to the side he went in on.

Not to be foiled, he ran further upstream and plunged bodily in again, but the current caught him once more and he was drawn under the roots of a tree that was partially washed out. As he did not emerge, the onlookers thought it was the end of him. But to everyone’s surprise, he emerged from the torrent, a short distance below the tree and made for the shore, climbing the bank and panting for breath after his rough voyage.

Agnes “Pat” Pfleuger is the former Silver Creek village historian and is a Dunkirk resident.