the great flood of 1937 - cincinnati history...

The Great Flood of 1937Collections Essay

This January marks the seventieth anniversary of the worst natural di-saster in the history of the Ohio Valley. Heavy rains in early 1937 ledto extensive flooding along the Ohio River and numerous tributaries.

Although hundreds of communities suffered, the Great Flood of 1937 struckparticularly hard in Cincinnati and Louisville.

In Cincinnati, the river stayed above flood stagefrom January 18 until February 5 and reached itscrest of 79.99 feet on Tuesday, January 26. Schools,stores, theaters and factories closed. Authorities ra-tioned electricity, suspended streetcar service, andshut off the water supply except for four hours dai-ly. In Louisville, the Ohio stayed above flood stagefor twenty-three days. On January 27, the rivercrested at 57.1 feet, almost thirty feet above floodstage. More than 60 percent of the city was underwater and about 230,000 of Louisville's 350,000residents had to evacuate their homes. Propertydamage exceeded fifty million dollars.

The flood resulted from unprecedented Jan-uary rain throughout the region. January 1937was the wettest month in Ohio since 1866 witha state average of 9.57 inches. Normal Januaryprecipitation is two to three inches. The highestOhio rainfall was 14.88 inches in Fernbank, justwest of Cincinnati, but rainfall in Louisville sur-passed even that total. Louisville's January precip-itation was a record 19.17 inches.

Both The Filson Historical Society and Cincinnati Museum Centerhave extensive collections that document this disaster, including photo-graphs, books, pamphlets, maps, diaries, reports, newspapers, and correspon-dence. As you look at the illustrations presented here, keep in mind the scaleof this disaster.

RIGHT: Up a pole at third and River Road in Louisville. WHAS radio announcers Foster Brooks (thefuture comedian) and Pete Monroe reporting on flood conditions over shortwave radio. Radio wasthe voice of the emergency, with regular updates, reports, emergency calls, etc. An NBC broadcastover WAVE radio on Feb. 7,1937, proclaimed radio as the "tenacious horseman that rides the crest ofthe flood from the headwaters of the Ohio to the mouth of the mighty Mississippi."

The Jan. 25,1937 Cincinnati Enquirer notified itsreaders that "the City Manager officially declares thatan emergency exists in Cincinnati and it is absolutelyessential that all citizens cooperate with public andprivate agencies to conserve all of the community'sresources."ciNCiNNATi MUSEUM CENTER, CINCINNATI HISTORICAL

SOCIETY LIBRARY

THE FILSON HISTORICAL SOCIETY

O H I O V A L L E Y H I S T O R Y

The Damage

This map showing the flooded areas of Louisville was part of a certificate of appreciation that Mayor Neville Miller presented tovolunteers. It illustrates the extent of the flooding, as well as the surprising areas near the river that were high enough to avoidinundation, THE FILSON HISTORICAL SOCIETY

Houses on Shelby Streetin Louisville's easterndowntown area awash inflood waters.THE FILSON HISTORICAL SOCIETY

62 O H I O V A L L E Y H I S T O R Y

Copy for a Jan. 22,1937,WAVE radio broadcast

• • over the NBC networkproclaiming Louisville tobe a "dark city" that night,with its lights out and

i|« streets deserted, THE FILSONHISTORICAL SOCIETY

Thirty-fifth and Rudd Streets in the Portlandneighborhood of Louisville. The flood devastatedPortland and other neighborhoods in westernLouisville. Almost that entire area of the city andcounty were under water, THE FILSON HISTORICAL SOCIETY

63

This aerial view of the Cane Run area in western Louisville, bordering the river, looks like a huge lake—except for the buildings and treesdotting its surface, THE FILSON HISTORICAL SOCIETY

Bystanders on Cincinnati's Ludlow Avenue viaduct looked almost hopeless as the water level reached 79.99 feeto n Jan.26 ,1937. CINCINNATI MUSEUM CENTER, CINCINNATI HISTORICAL SOCIETY LIBRARY

A gondola it's not, but this man seemed tobe poling his little craft quite successfullyin the 1700 block of South Third Street inthe Old Louisville neighborhood southof downtown. Just four blocks from The In this well-remembered view of the Abraham Lincoln statue outside theFilson's current location, this is more than Louisville Free Public Library at Third and York Streets/'Father Abraham"two and a half miles from the river. appears to be walking—or at least standing—on water, THE FILSON HISTORICALTHE FILSON HISTORICAL SOCIETY SOCIETY


ABOVE: After the floodwatersreceded, evidence of theincredible force of thewater was everywhere. InLawrenceburg, Indiana, a housewas turned upside down.LEFT: Fire struck in Cincinnatiduring the flood and burnedhouses to the water line.BOTTOM LEFT: In oneCincinnati neighborhood,a garage ended up stuckbetween two houses at thesecond story. CINCINNATI MUSEUM

CENTER, CINCINNATI HISTORICAL

SOCIETY LIBRARY

RIGHT: A quarantine pass dated Feb. 2,1937, issued to Sidney Pierce,allowing him to cross the quarantine line officials had established inorder to better manage the disaster and control the spread of possiblediseases expected in the wake of the flood. Management was effectiveand there were few problems with disease, THE FILSON HISTORICAL SOCIETY

W I N T E R 2 0 0 6

Bill Russell, a photographer for the

Cincinnati Times Star, climbed a pole to

photograph the flood in Cumminsville,

along the Mill Creek. CINCINNATI MUSEUM

CENTER, CINCINNATI HISTORICAL SOCIETY LIBRARY

Chicago Did II! San Franeisco Did It!Now Watch Louisville!

Fire! Fire! FIRE! Chicago in 18T1 was a blazing inferno! Within a few shortdays almost the entire city of Chicago was a barren waste of charred timbers andsmoking ashes. Bui was Chicago really destroyed? No, only the buildings! Menand women make a city . . . not buildings. Those Chicago men and women laughedin the face of disaster! They rolled up their sleeves and went to work. On the coldashes of their old Chicago they built a greater Chicago . . . the second largest city

in America!Earthquake! EARTHQUAKE! Wide-eyed with terror the citizens of San Fran-

cisco rushed from their homes. The world seemed coming to an end! Buildingscrumbled and crashed about them! Fire lashed its hungry tongue on every side!Mad, stark horror stalked the trembling streets'. In 1906 the entire city of SanFrancisco was in ruins. But was San Francisco really destroyed? No, only the build-ings! Men and women make a city . . . not buildings. The pioneer spirit whichhad built San Francisco could not be shaken even by an earth quake! The citizens ofSan Francisco rolled up their sleeves and went to work. Over the ruins of their oldSan Francisco they built a greater San Francisco. . . the greatest city in the West!

Chicago did it! San Francisco did it! Now watch LOUISVILLE! The disasterwhich has befallen us is small compared to She Chicago Fire . . . it is small comparedto the San Francisco Earthquake.

The Federal Government has appropriated seven hundred and ninety million dol-lars for flood relief! The United States Army has come to help us. The greatAmerican Red Cross has placed its entire organization in our service. The wholenation is giving us every possible agaist ;mce. We have at our command everymodern method for building a better and a greater city. Now, watch LOUIS-VILLE!

Has Louisville been destroyed by flood ? No, of course not! Has any part of Lou-isville been destroyed by flood? No, only some buildings. The men and women ofLouisville are really Louisville . . . not the buildings! We are Kentuckians! We areLouisvillians! Onr forefathers built this city out of logs and they fought the Indiansoff while they were building it. The eyes of the entire world are npon us. They arewondering if we have the courage of our forefathers or if we are weaklings'.

The world is a place of ups and downs . . . it's a place of gains and losses. Somemen are brittle. They are like the pitcher that goes to the well, hits a stone and isbroken to pieces. Some men start out in life gaily until they hit the first stone.Then they're done for. They might do very well in a world filled with cushions butthey are not much good in a world filled with stone.

Too many men get into the world who should never have left the nursery. Theygo through Hfe snivelling, "Somebody hit me." If you want people to believe you area real man, you roust prove that you will not break under pressure. You must makeit clear that you are not a piece of wood painted to look like sturdy iron. You mustexpect life to be a conflict, not a parade or a pink tea. You must have the courage,the determination, to outlast disaster.

You must be like the mythical Phoenix. The Phoenix was a sacred bird that lived inArabia. Every five hundred years it went to a certain temple in Egypt and burneditself on the altar. Then, just when everybody thought it was dead, it sprang out ofthe flames all renewed. It rose from the ashes of its dead self and lived for fivehundred years longer.

Yes, if we are real men, if we are real Kentuckians, if we are real LouisviUians,we'll be like the Phoenix . . . we'll rise up renewed, determined, unconquerable!By courage, by faith, by working together we'll build a better aad a greater Louisville!

Chicago did it! San Francisco did it! Now watch LOUISVILLE!

The eighty-eight person Cincinnati long distance office with every position filled.CINCINNATI MUSEUM CENTER, CINCINNATI HISTORICAL

SOCIETY LIBRARY


The Response

The river stage was 72.8 feet on Saturday, January 23 when this photograph was taken in downtown Cincinnati on Broadway

Street, looking north to Third. The river would rise another 7.1 feet. CINCINNATI MUSEUM CENTER, CINCINNATI HISTORICAL SOCIETY LIBRARY

Even in the worstdisasters, people willfind some diversions.

CINCINNATI MUSEUM

CENTER, CINCINNATI

HISTORICAL SOCIETY

LIBRARY

Cincinnatians were rescuedby every means possible—this woman was carriedfrom her home near Freemanand Eighth St. in the West

End.CINCINNATI MUSEUM CENTER,

CINCINNATI HISTORICAL SOCIETY

LIBRARY

W I N T E R 2 0 0 6

ABOVE:The flood essentially washed away Shippingport,the little

town on the island between the Louisville and Portland Canal

and the Ohio River, and between downtown and Portland. Its

few remaining residents were relocated and the remnants of the

town razed, THE FILSON HISTORICAL SOCIETY BELOW: As flood waters

rose, relief efforts in Louisville were organized. Issued on Jan. 26,

1937,"Relief Bulletin No. 1" listed sites, personnel, and telephone

numbers of emergency services for the Crescent Hill area. Located

east of downtown Louisville, Crescent Hill's higher elevation largely

spared it serious flooding. It became an important staging and

relief area, THE FILSON HISTORICAL SOCIETY

Federal agencies like the Works Progress Administration provided

important flood relief assistance by setting up soup kitchens and

other services, THE FILSON HISTORICAL SOCIETY

Oil and gasoline tank wagons, milk tank trucks, and even cement

trucks delivered water. Cleveland sent water trucks to Cincinnati

to help with water distribution.CINCINNATI MUSEUM CENTER, CINCINNATI

H I S T O R I C A L SOCIETY LIBRARY


ABOVE: The Point neighborhood, along the river just upstream of downtown Louisville, was essentially destroyed by the flood.The George Fitz family were refugees from the Point and took up temporary quarters in one of the city's refugee camps, THE FILSONHISTORICAL SOCIETY

BELOW: This aerial view looking north to the Ohio River shows the devastating flooding in Louisville's west end. Block after block ofhouses and businesses were evacuated as the waters rose and spread farther and farther until more than 60 percent of the city had beeninundated and some 65 percent of its population evacuated, THE FILSON HISTORICAL SOCIETY

' * A A „ . .

In his book on the flood, the noted journalist Lowell Thomas praised Cincinnati CityManager Clarence A. Dykstra for maintaining order in the city. He noted that "Officials fromWashington, reporters from New York and Chicago went to Cincinnati during its darkesthours.They marveled to find a smooth, unruffled machinery moving without a hitch tocope with that stupendous emergency.The answer, everybody agreed, was Dykstra."Lowell Thomas, Hungry Waters: The Story of the Great Flood (Philadelphia: John C. WinstonCO., 1 9 3 7 ) , 3 9 . CINCINNATI MUSEUM CENTER, CINCINNATI HISTORICAL SOCIETY LIBRARY

Numerous publicationsappeared after the flood.Thisparticular Photo Story" could bemailed for one and a half centsif no writing was added to theins ide.CINCINNATI MUSEUM CENTER,

CINCINNATI HISTORICAL SOCIETY LIBRARY

Anita Brooke's Jan. 26, 1937 letter describes her flood experience up to that time. Her apartment in the Old Louisvilleneighborhood was just blocks away from the man afloat on his makeshift raft on Third Street. THE FILSON HISTORICAL SOCIETY


Dear Folks:

By this time you surely must havve heard a lot about the horrible flood.You can be thenkful you are away from Cincinnati now for it is a night-mare. The river is up to the third step on our front porch and extendsabout half-way back in our side yard. Our cellar is flooded and ouronly means of escape is out the back way and up over the back streets toElberor? Avenue.

The roar of the water is something we will never forget. We saw houseslift from their foundations and rush downstream, end we even sew afactory topple over and float away. Yesterday I was looking out of thewindow and our telephone poles fell over, dragging the wires with them.My mother saw two men disappear out in midstream in a skiff, and housesand furniture end everything imaginable drifts by. You simply cannotimagine the horror of this flood. The constant rosr of water passingthe house end hitting it and the drift coming downstream and passing soclose to the house have been keeping us in a constant state of worry.However, I believe the worst is over and now that the river is fallingwe feel very much reassured.

Cincinnatian Alma Budd described the flood in a letter she wrote on Jan. 28,1937 to Herbert F. Koch, executive vice president of theCincinnati Morris Plan Bank and her boss. CINCINNATI MUSEUM CENTER, CINCINNATI HISTORICAL SOCIETY LIBRARY

Scout Executive's Report - 1S37Presented at Annual Meeting - Cincinnati Council

February 5, 1938

The year 1937, for which this report is written, will bememorable above all things for the service rendered by Scoutsand Scouters in the Great Flood.

Details of Ohio River Flood at Cincinnati

River reached height of 79.99 Tuesday, January 26, 1937.Highest previous record was 72.88,

Newspapers estimated 200,000 flood refugees. (Enq.1-39).

It is estimated 30,000 to 40,000 moved by water transporta-tion. Approximately 850 boats and 1000 workers in the EmergencyFlood Fleet. No lives lost - no boats lost in these operations.

There was no increase in disease.

There were only 3 casualties in Cincinnati which could beattributed to the flood,

3600 Scouts participated in flood duty and an estimated totalof 650 Scouters, "Too busy feeding stomachs to count noses," oneleader reported.

Samples of Scout Service

Scouts carried house to house fire warnings for Fire Chief.Guarded oil and gasoline supplies and kept smokers out of

danger areas of inflamrcables.Assigned to guard and use, if necessary, fire-extinguishers

at Red Cross Headquarters.Conducted house to house canvass for clothing and canned goods.Cots and mattresses for refugees during first few days came

from Scout Camp.Handled traffic in several areas, particularly on Black Sunday

and other acute disaster periods.Assisted in providing hot coffee and sandwiches to police and

firemen.Aided in distribution of drinking water at tanks and homes.Guided drivers in transport service to unfamiliar areas.Conducted constant 34-hour map service for transportation.Twenty-four-hour service in 8-hour shifts as messengers and

handlers of clothing, foods, hardware and canteen, boiling water.Loading and unloading supplies.Used troop trucks to haul people and goods.Operated and repaired boats in rescue work.Helped families and store-keepers move.Operated 5 retre short-rave sets transmitting instructions alow

water front.

The Boy Scouts of Cincinnatiworked hard during theemergency.Their annual reportdescribed the assistance theyprovided.CINCINNATI MUSEUM

CENTER, CINCINNATI HISTORICAL

SOCIETY LIBRARY

W I N T E R 2 0 0 6 71

the great flood of 1937 - cincinnati history...

Documents