May 22, 2017 / Joanne Yeck

Extreme Weather in Buckingham County

Courtesy Historic Buckingham

Extreme weather is nothing new. In Buckingham County, heavy rains not only adversely affected farmers but also halted work in the famous slate quarries. On August 23, 1928, Charlottesville’s Daily Progress reported this from New Canton, Buckingham County:

THUNDERSTORM HURTS BUCKINGHAM CROPS

New Canton, Va., Aug. 19. — A terrific and long continued thunderstorm visited this section at 6 o’clock yesterday afternoon, bringing 3 inches of precipitation—an amount unequaled in a thunderstorm in several years. All upper and sloping lands were badly washed, including fields of growing crops, and low lands were completely inundated. There was little wind, but much lightning, though so far as can be ascertained no buildings were struck.

Today beginning at 10 o’clock, it has been raining steadily, and indications are that it will continue through the night. Farmers are afraid that tobacco will be drowned on the hill and corn on the river bottoms ruined. Growers in the well-known Davidson section of Buckingham are beginning to cut tobacco, which is magnificent as to quality, and quantity. Indications are that by September 10 the entire crop in this portion of central Virginia will be ripe or harvested.

On account of the heavy rains work has been temporarily suspended in the Arvonia slate quarries, and the force building the iron bridge across James River at Bremo is idle. All section forces are kept on the rush, looking after the tracks of the James River Division, the Virginia Air Line and the Buckingham branch, all of which tracks have been badly washed them places.