The hamlet of Gang Mills is located south of Painted Post and Corning in the town of Erwin. Here, railroad tracks along the Tioga River were uprooted and had the earth washed out from under them.
Railroad tracks in Gang Mills. Courtesy of the Erie Lackawanna Historical Society and the Steuben County Historical Society.
These tracks, while on higher ground than the town to the north and west of them, were not high enough to avoid the flooding. Damage such as this undermined railroad tracks in several areas in the region, as the Erie-Lackawanna line ran parallel to the river between Corning and Waverly, the area most severely affected by the flooding.
Railroad tracks running up an eroded incline. Courtesy of the Erie Lackawanna Historical Society and the Steuben County Historical Society.
Damage such as this marked the final blow to the already struggling railroad. The rail yard in Gang Mills is now operated by Norfolk Southern.
Corning Deaths: 17. Star-Gazette (Elmira, NY), June 28, 1972. Courtesy of FindAGrave.com
One of the tragic deaths caused by floods was in Gang Mills, where a firefighter named Hobart Abbey was swept away by the water on June 23 while responding to the emergency. Abbey was originally from Salamanca, NY, and left behind a wife and daughter.