The North Carolina town is trying to rebuild after the wrath of Hurricane Helene

MARSHALL, N.C. — Sandra Hensley-Sprinkle, 68, grew up in Marshall, whose tiny downtown sits on the edge of the French Broad River north of Asheville, North Carolina.

When she was young, Marshall was a bustling Appalachian town with large department stores, she said. Then his fortune dwindled and buildings became empty. But in recent years it has experienced a revival, renewed by the influx of art, music and gastronomy. The once run-down prison has been converted into a boutique hotel and restaurant.

On Monday, she walked down the steep hill from her home into a downtown devastated by Hurricane Helene: streets filled with thick mud. Mangled debris. Twisted train tracks and overturned vehicles.

“We’ve never seen anything like this,” she said.

The historic town of nearly 800 residents in 2022 was hit by a flood of water from Hurricane Helene, which flooded or destroyed buildings. Among them: a railroad depot built in the 1890s that became a popular venue for the community and hosted weekly old-time music shows.

The flooding damaged a water treatment plant across the river and left most of the city without electricity or telephones. Marshall Mayor Aaron Haynie told local media that there had been “some” fatalities.

Longtime residents said it was the worst flooding disaster in at least a century. Residents said they saw some people climbing onto roofs of buildings and pushing semi-trailers downstream. A video clip shows an entire house floating through the raging water.

The mayor and business owners vowed to rebuild.

“It's a tragedy,” Keaton Griffin said as he shoveled mud and debris into a wheelbarrow.

Residents in Marshall — as elsewhere in western North Carolina just days after the storm — struggled to find what they needed without power or phones as National Guard helicopters buzzed over the area.

Across the Southeast, Hurricane Helene claimed more than 100 lives and left nearly 1.6 million customers without power as of Monday evening.

On Monday, people at a nearby supermarket gave each other tips on buying needed goods – but were stymied because the stores were either closed or didn't accept credit cards. Crowds crowded the dollar store for snacks and chips. Others waited in long lines of cars for limited gas — if they could get cash from a working ATM.

Resident Annie Griffey, 73, said her cousin found a way to deliver water and perishable food in a very unusual way – by private helicopter dropped off at the local cemetery.

“Swear to God,” she said. “My cousin can make anything happen.”

On Monday, after river levels fell, cleanup crews were busy clearing thick mud and removing belongings from flooded homes. Excavators hummed on flood-damaged downtown streets.

Chad Adamowski, wearing rubber boots and tattoos, shoveled mud from his eclecticly decorated tattoo shop, which doubles as a music studio and performance space.

An Airstream trailer outside somehow didn't get swept away. But he tried to save memorabilia from bands he played in and curios he collected. He pointed to a stuffed buffalo head hanging nearly six feet above a wall, its chin still wet from floodwaters, to show how high it had gotten.

Adamowski, who opened his business in Marshall about 14 years ago and lives in the city, said the area's revitalization accelerated in the last five years as people began buying up vacant buildings and opening shops or restaurants, a trend , which increased during the pandemic.

“A lot of people came in and opened businesses. Before you knew it, we had a thriving community,” he said.

Nowadays, the old high school has been converted into artist studios and an event space. The city's former glove factory now houses mixed-use apartments.

And the city served as a film set, including for the Amazon show “The Peripheral” in 2022.

The North Carolina town is trying to rebuild after the wrath of Hurricane Helene

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The North Carolina town is trying to rebuild after the wrath of Hurricane Helene

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