During the whole of last week there was a stiff breeze from the north-east, and on Saturday a slight rain began to fall, which increased on Sunday to a steady and heavy rain that lasted all day Sunday, and until about three o’clock on Monday morning, when the wind changed to the northwest, and the storm began to abate. On Sunday the waters of the bay became very high, and on Sunday night, an overflow commenced.
The Beach portion of the city was overflowed in some places as far as Chaparral street, and in some of the streets, the water rose to a depth of a foot and not entirely subside, until Monday evening.
Three small vessels were stranded, the bottom of Gould’s boat being knocked out, and two large schooners in the bay, broke loose from the wharves a part of their fastenings, and were obliged to cut the rest and swing to their anchors.
The water undermined a house situated near the bay, belonging to Mr. E.D. Sidbury, so that the ground on which it stood, gave way and tumbled the house into the bay bottom side upwards. The supports of one of our wharves were weakened by the forces of the tide and waves, so that a portion of it caved in. Fences were washed down’ much of the lumber in the yards of Messrs. Staples & Co. and Mr. Jordan was floated away and mixed up with other floating debris, and large quantities of shell and sand were washed up along the beach.
At the immediately above the city, ten of the telegraph poles were prostrated, the wires broken in two places, and its ends floated out into the bay and buried ten feet in the same. A small bayou above the wharf of M. Headen & Son, and a lake on this side of it, were washed into the deep ravines, connecting Nueces Bay with Corpus Christi Bay, and gave a delta to the Nueces river; and the flat in the vicinity was overflowed so as to form quite a lake. The ravines made as above stated, cut off the Rincon, or city of Brooklyn, from this city, and the water in it ran so high on Monday, that the butchers, who had their slaughter horses at the Rincon were unable to cross it and bring their meat to market, and they are now obliged to cross it in boats in order to get it to this city.
The damage done by the storm here was small, but more than has been done here for a number of years. It is a noteworthy fact that Corpus Christi seems to be out of the track of the storms that so frequently visit the Texas coast, but yet so near their path that it receives their spent force.
Source: Nueces Valley, October 7, 1871, p. 3, col 2
Research by: Msgr. Michael A. Howell
Transcription by: Geraldine D. McGloin, Nueces County Historical Commission