It began raining at Red Boiling Springs around 3:30 a.m. on the morning of Monday, June 23. It is not known at what time Salt Lick Creek rose out of its banks, nor at what time it crested, as accounts vary. According to one newspaper article, by 6:00 a.m. the water crested “about 5 feet above maximum flood level.” However, the same article stated that water was reported as deep as 9 feet in downtown Red Boiling Springs at 7:00 a.m. An adjoining newspaper caption also claimed the water was “estimated to be six to 10 feet deep in several places in the business section.” The team rescued her from a tree around 11:00 a.m., after having been stranded about 4 hours. It is therefore likely that Salt Lick Creek remained out of its banks at least until mid-day.
Two residents of Red Boiling Springs were killed in that morning’s flood. The body of Renah Louise Bilbrey, 8, was found around 2:00 p.m. that afternoon. The body of her younger sister, Jennifer Rae, 2, wasn’t discovered until around 11:00 a.m. that Friday, about four miles downstream.
Overall, around 35 homes and 15 businesses in Red Boiling Springs were either destroyed or heavily damaged. Four were swept away. Many homes were removed from their foundations. Approximately 40 houses were soaked with up to four feet of water. Debris from homes were washed onto the landscape and into limbs of trees. Virtually every business in downtown Red Boiling Springs was hit heavily by the flood. Town mayor Willis Knight stated, “our biggest problem is that we are out of city water. One of the pumping stations built just six months ago is under water and our mains are all torn up. We’ve had floods before, but never anything like this.” A depiction of the force of the flood waters is a Trailways bus which was swept about 500 feet down the Witcher Hollow Brook and into a steel-concrete bridge.
Volunteers from many surrounding towns, including Cookeville, Carthage, Hartsville, Lawrenceburg, and Nashville, came to help with the disaster. Fresh water was brought in from Lafayette. The Red Cross set up a temporary shelter at the skating rink Monday night. A 9:00 p.m. curfew was established in order to keep spectators out of town. On Thursday, the Red Cross opened a temporary office in Lafayette.
Countywide, there was widespread property damage along virtually every stream. Cattle were washed away, as well as farm equipment, tractors, and trucks. Many tobacco crops were also completely destroyed, with extensive damage to other crops, as well. Over 100 vehicles were washed away. Macon and surrounding counties were soon declared a disaster area.
~ Mark A. Rose, Meteorologist, National Weather Service
Red Boiling Springs was not the only community in Macon County to be affected. Homes in other areas were flooded, damaged, or washed away altogether. Judge J.G. Austin asked the governor to declare the county a disaster area after assessing that 12 major bridges and 80% of all small bridges had been damaged or washed away, and roads sustained severe damage. In fact, several sections of black-topped roads were completely washed away. Road damage alone was estimated at several hundred thousand dollars.
