History of Dearborn County, Indiana : her people, industries and institutions, Part 47

Author: Archibald Shaw
Publication date: 1915
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1123

USA > Indiana > Dearborn County > History of Dearborn County, Indiana : her people, industries and institutions > Part 47

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

Digitized by Google

CHAPTER XXXVIII.

FLOODS IN THE OHIO VALLEY.

The Ohio river, serene and peaceful during the most of the year, is wont, almost with annual regularity, to get out of its banks and flood the con- tiguous lowlands and at times reaches a height that causes considerable prop- erty damage. The reason for these yearly freshets is due entirely to the geo- graphical location of the Ohio river and its tributaries.

The Ohio valley is the playground of the elements. Climatic changes are more severe than in any other part of the country, as for instance the famous New Year's Eve of 1863, when the thermometer fell, in twenty-four hours, from seventy-five degrees above zero to thirty degrees below zero. It is not. however, the sudden changes downward that are to be feared. The ideal con- ditions for bringing on a great stage of the river are generally agreed upon as follows : The ground frozen deeply, by a long and cold winter, and rendered impermeable; plenty of snow in the mountains, feeding the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers, and then a sudden breaking up of winter, accompanied by copious rainfall. These conditions being coincident, a serious flood is almost inevitable.

Floods have, as a general proposition, grown more severe with the ad- vancement of civilization. There were inundations during the period of pioneer settlement, but that they were not more serious in effect was due to the retard- ing influence of the great virgin forests that clothed the hillsides. Since the coming of white men in myriad numbers, the ground has been cleared of timber. the hasty flow of surface water being thus not only freed from every natural ob- struction, but actually hastened in many cases by the introduction of tiling and other drainage means. This had had the effect of rushing the falling water to the nearest stream, practically as soon as it falls, thus causing an increased height of the stream. Civilization and scientific farming demand certain and absolute drainage, and it is but the irony of Nature that, when her natural order is altered, she objects.

CIVILIZATION AN AID TO FLOODS.

We build asphalt streets with nicely graded gutters, well calculated to carry off rainfall as quickly as it descends and pour it into sewers that, too, are slanted to hurry the water to the outlet into the river. The river, itself, natur-

Digitized by Google

487

DEARBORN COUNTY, INDIANA.

ally confined by its banks is, by our modern civilization, turned into a running cess-pool. But in the beginning the rivers had natural outlets and were not curbed or checked by man, until railroad building and bridge building began. The engineers, seeking always to span the streams at the least expense, brought the approaches of the bridges as closely together as they thought prudent, thus narrowing the outlet of the stream in case of an unusual freshet. That their judgment was not prudent, was amply shown by the remarkable flood of March, 1913, when practically every bridge within the flood zone was swept away by the waters which refused to be pent up or held back.

But circumstances really account for floods. The right combination of weather conditions can produce such a flood as never before has been seen in the valley. Such conditions have never presented themselves and probably never will, but there is always a possibility of such a visitation, especially toward the close of the winter months. The theory that the deforestation of the country has been fruitful in causing floods is vigorously disputed by those who claim that floods are to be accounted for by sudden storms of continental extent that are swept inland from off the ocean by great atmospheric currents. Sufficient evidence is found in alluvial deposits to prove that floods occurred in the Ohio valley before the coming of man-at a time when forests were thickly abundant. But who will contend that these same floods would not have been more disastrous had not those forests been there to check the water as it fell or as it formed from the melting of snow?

RECORD OF EARLY FLOODS.

The first considerable flood in the Ohio valley of which we have authentic record was during the winter of 1788-89. The great height attained by the water prevented the troops arriving at the mouth of the Great Miami from occupying Fort Finney. This same flood deluged the little setttlement at Columbia, above Cincinnati, only one house escaping the deluge. The soldiers there were driven to the loft of the block-house and from there to the one boat they had. Judge John Cleves Symmes in a letter to Colonel Dayton, dated North Bend, May, 1789, says that the whole country thereabout had been inun- dated, and that "the season was remarkable for the amazing height of the water in the Ohio, being many feet higher than had been known since the white people had come into Kentucky."

The next flood was that of 1825, but little concerning its severity or dam- age wrought has been written, so it is deemed best to pass on to the high water

Digitized by Google

488

DEARBORN COUNTY, INDIANA.

of 1832. During January of that year there had been a heavy and continuous fall of snow and by February Ist the ground was thickly covered, but the weather turned mild and a rapid thaw set in. About a week later a mild rain began, which continued without cessation for four days and nights. Very soon the rise in the river grew alarming. Merchants along the river front at Cin- cinnati were compelled to move their goods to second stories. The river con- tinued to rise until the 18th, when it came to a stand and then an account was taken of the damage done. Nearly every town between Pittsburgh and Louis- ville was under water, either entirely or partly. Houses, barns, fences and any- thing about lowland farms that would float were seen passing down in the turbulent stream. On the 24th the river had so far receded that it re- turned to its banks, the flood having lasted twelve days. In the issue of the Lawrenceburg Palladium of March 3, 1832, is the following account :

"The late great flood in the Ohio and its disastrous effects being sub- jects of painful interest to all, we have collected in our paper today statements from the towns on the river. From Pittsburgh, and as far down as we have been able to learn, the destruction of property has been great beyond a parallel in the West. The height of the water in this place was about eight feet over that of 1825. High street, the most elevated part of town, was covered with from four to six feet of water its whole extent. On some of the cross streets the water was still higher, and the inhabitants were compelled to seek refuge in the buildings along High and Walnut streets. All the two-story buildings on these streets were filled to overflowing-some having three, four and five families in them."

The next flood of serious consequence was that of 1847. This flood stands out unique in that it is the only flood of record that occurred during the month of December. The river began to rise rapidly on December 10 and, fed by the side streams of its entire length, it crept steadily upward for four or five days. On December 15 there came a remarkable snowstorm that continued throughout the day and then again turned to rain. The river responded quickly to this precipitation and reached a height of sixty-three feet and seven inches on December 17. The water had broken the record for suddenness, but the damage done was not so great as that of 1832.

FLOODS OF MORE RECENT DATE.

We now come to the terrible floods of the present generation, the floods of 1882, 1883 and 1884 and the appalling disaster of 1913. Lawrenceburg suffered keenly from the visitation of 1882. The following account is taken from newspapers published shortly after the waters receded :

Digitized by Google

+80

DEARBORN COUNTY, INDIANA.

"For several weeks the Ohio river, at this city, had been rising grad- ually, until Monday evening, February 20, it reached a point at the junction of the fill in the fair grounds and the Big Four railroad, when it became neces- sary, on account of the depression in the fair ground embankment, to raise the bank at least two feet in order to keep the waters, which had been accumulat- ing, from flowing over the bank into the city. Mayor Roberts promptly se- cured a force and went to work with energy and determination to do all that could be done to hold back if possible the waters, and up to midnight Monday had succeeded admirably in holding them in check. But the continued rains for the past few days had swollen the Whitewater and Miami rivers to such an ex- tent that it was soon evident that it would be impossible to keep up the em- bankment of the Big Four railroad from this city to Hardintown, and the most that could be expected was to hold the waters back until morning or daylight. But at about 4 o'clock Tuesday morning, the 21st, the waters of the Miami were thrown against the Big Four railroad track with excessive pressure, on account of the barrier formed by the Ohio and Mississippi railroad, which would not permit the accumulated waters to pass into the Ohio river, when at a point just below the locks at Hardintown and a point opposite the Trough pond, near Nicholas Fox's, the water broke through, and it was not long until it was rushing, with fearful velocity and in vast volumes, through the upper end of the city, carrying terrible destruction in its wide and extending pathway. The screams of the people in the lower parts of town, when they were aroused to the fact that they were surrounded by the flood of waters, were distressing in the extreme. The mayor had arranged for giving a signal of alarm by the ringing of the church bells, and when it was known that the flow was coming the bells pealed forth their terrible warning, and at the same time the flood gates at the lower end of the city were opened, and the torrent of waters came rushing with equal destructive force until they met at Walnut street. like two mighty giant monsters of the deep amid its angry waves, struggling for the supremacy of the sea, until both ended their existence in death, and thus the waters ceased their angry flow.

HEAVY LOSS OF PROPERTY.

"Although it was generally known that it would be impossible to keep the waters out of the city, and many of the houses were ten or more feet below the surface of the water in the river, yet comparatively few persons were pre- pared when the rush of waters came. The result was the loss of individual

Digitized by Google

490

DEARBORN COUNTY, INDIANA.

property has been very great. Not so much in the aggregate of dollars and cents-yet in many cases it took all they had. even to their houses. Both the upper and lower end of the city suffered a number of houses overturned, while others had floated away from their foundations. It is surprising how many families were driven so hastily from their homes, on account of the sudden rise of the waters within the city limits, which in its mad career seemed to wash, upturn and drive everything before it. Hardly two hours had elapsed from the time the water broke its barriers until it was in every part of the city doing its work of devastation, and yet we have heard of but one death.

"The men employed in their skiffs and hastily-provided boats did noble work in rescuing the people from the great peril in which they were so sud- denly found. Large numbers of families took shelter in public school buildings, in the court house, in the stove works, in the lodge rooms, and other large rooms on High street, as well as with private families, and it may be said that as many as a thousand people were made homeless for the night at least. It was but a short time after getting housed until they were provided with food and made as comfortable as it was possible to make them under such unforeseen circumstances and the short time given in which to work.

"The waters continued to rise until about 4 o'clock Tuesday afternoon, and from that time until midnight there was but little change, when it began to fall. In the afternoon it had covered High street, with the exception of here and there a small portion of the center of the street could be seen as dark spots above the water. High street being the highest street in old Lawrenceburg, this part of the city therefore was entirely submerged. The store houses, with floors even with the pavements, had a few inches of water on their first floor. On all streets besides High the buildings were more or less filled with water, ranging from one to fifteen feet."

ENTIRE CITY FLOODED.

Scarcely had the damage done by the flood of 1882 been repaired before the winter of 1882-83 set in. Rainfall began during the latter part of January and continued incessantly during the early part of February. Responding to these copious rains the Miami and Ohio rivers began to rise by leaps and bounds and the general topic of conversation in Lawrenceburg was the probable repetition of the flood of a year previous. Fears were entertained that the rents made by the break in the levee had not been repaired strongly enough to with- stand another such high stage of water. But all such calculations were up-

Digitized by Google

491

DEARBORN COUNTY, INDIANA.

set when the rainfall became so heavy that it soon became evident that the water would reach a height greatly in excess of the flood of 1882. The Miami spent its force, but the great volume of water in the Ohio came on relentlessly and finally reached the sixty-eight-foot mark. This covered High street to a depth of six feet and flooded the entire city, including a few squares in New- town.

The property loss was enormous as the result of the deep water running so rapidly through the city. Eight manufacturing establishments, two business houses, forty dwellings and three stables were entirely destroyed. and one hundred and seventy-nine dwellings, one hundred and thirty-three barns, nine- teen shops and six business houses were removed from their foundations. Graham & Marshall lost heavily in lumber and their saw-mill was swept away. while Henry Fitch's losses were nearly as large. although his mill stood firm,

The floods already mentioned did considerable damage in the town of Aurora, but the havoc wrought there was not nearly as severe as that inflicted upon Lawrenceburg. The flood of 1882 covered Main street from the bridge half way to Second street, and from the foot of Second street to Chambers & Steven's corner. The people living on those streets were forced to move into the upper stories of their houses. On Third street the water came half way up to Main; on Fourth street nearly to Judiciary. while it reached Peter Koehler's corner, at the foot of Fifth street. shutting off communication, ex- cept by boats, to "Texas," About half the houses in the city had water in them during the flood of 1883. The water varied in depth from the eaves of roofs in the lowlands, to more than a foot on the floor of Leive's jewelry store. in the Opera House building. The Aurora Independent, in its issue of February 22, 1883, states, "We started out to get an estimate of individual losses of our citizens by the flood, but the work was too great for us. Our citizens, both rich and poor alike, have lost heavily, probably, in all, not much less than $100,000."

THE FLOOD OF 1884.

Hard on the heels of this disastrous overflow came the unspeakable ca- lamity of the flood of 1884. This flood has gone down in history. to the date of this writing, as the greatest that has ever happened in the Ohio valley: to the extent that the waters reached the greatest height ever attained. During December of 1883, snow in great quantities fell over the entire watershed of the Ohio. Over this was spread several inches of fine hail so that the amount of water-producing precipitation held in suspense was enormous.

Digitized by Google

492

DEARBORN COUNTY, INDIANA.

Throughout January, 1884, more snow fell, drifting into the valleys and in some places reaching a depth of several feet. Then came a sudden climatic change and warm rains began to descend. The rainfall continued.and made the conditions ideal for a disastrous flood. The city of Lawrenceburg was powerless to do anything but watch the rapid rise of the water, knowing that a terrible flood was inevitable.

The rising waters slowly crept up the bank toward the top of the levee, and about noon on Wednesday, February 6, began to pour into the city be- tween Elm street and St. Clair street. Up to ten o'clock at night but a small portion of the city had been flooded, but at that hour the upper levee gave away and the waters rushed in with all fury across the fields and into the city, to meet the waters coming in from the Ohio. This meeting broke the force of the current and kept damage from this source down to a minimum. By one o'clock Thursday morning the waters had covered all of Old Town except that part of High street near the plant of the Miami Valley Furniture Com- pany. From that hour the water rose steadily for seven days, when, on the evening of February 14, at five o'clock and forty-five minutes, it came to a stand as the long crest of the rise passed the city. Then began the slow re- cession of the water, which lasted more than a week. On February 21 High . street was again visible, after having been submerged for two weeks.

The water reached such a great height that its lifting power caused many large buildings to leave their foundations and turn over; in most cases break- ing in two while turning. Added to this buoyant force was the menace of the waves driven by a gale that prevailed for several days during the highest part of the flood. Hundreds of buildings were torn from their foundations and lashed about until they were reduced to splinters and finally set adrift to the mercy of the swift current. The waters reached the greatest height on February 15, when a stage of more than two feet and eight inches higher than any known flood was registered.

At Ferris' drug store it reached 8 feet, 4 inches; Jordan's drug store, 8 feet, 7 inches : Indiana House, 22 inches on second floor; Hillman's store, IO feet, 5 inches; Keifer's store, 5 inches on second floor; postoffice, 9 feet, 5 inches ; court house, 4 feet, 6 inches; Peoples' Bank, 8 feet, 10 inches; Meth- odist Episcopal church, I inch on second floor. The entire village of Hardin- town was under water for twelve days.

Relief committees were promptly organized and contributions poured in from all parts of the country. The committee in Lawrenceburg received and disbursed more than twenty thousand dollars. Large quantities of provisions

Digitized by Google

493

DEARBORN COUNTY, INDIANA.

were purchased and liberal donations of bedding, clothing, food and coal were received from different parts to alleviate the suffering and distress among the three thousand homeless people. After the waters had receded it was found that many of the homes left standing were beyond repair and in order to meet such a situation a blank application for relief was furnished, on which the owner, under oath, was required to show his or her inability to repair the damages. There were one hundred and eighty-seven of these applications filed and one hundred and sixty of them were allowed. An efficient force of movers, carpenters, stone- and brick-masons, plasterers and laborers were en- gaged to repair the damages. The executive committee compromised a great number of cases, allowing the owners to do the work themselves, or have it done, and the amount was paid on certificate that it had been completed.

GRAPHIC ACCOUNT OF DISASTER.

The best account of this great flood in the city of Aurora is found in the Independent, in its issue of February 14, 1884, which is as follows:

"As a result of their precautions, the citizens of Aurora will not suffer nearly as much as they did in 1882 or in 1883, and the destruction of property will not be one-third as much as in either of those years. Warning came over the wires: 'Prepare for seventy feet.' That would be three feet and six inches more than we had in 1883, and the people lost no time in preparing. All the people living in houses likely to be submerged moved into their second stories. where they were high enough, and where this was not the case they abandoned the houses and moved to higher ground. All of our merchants moved their goods and perishable property beyond the possible reach of the water, and thus saved everything. many of them working day and night to accomplish their object. Of course Cobb's Iron and Nail Company, the Sut- ton Mill Company, Aurora Distilling Company, and the Aurora Valley Furni- ture Company were drowned out and stopped operations, but, aside from the loss of time, trouble and inconvenience, their losses will not amount to much. With the river already bank full (and over its banks in many places). the rain commenced Monday night. February 4, and poured down almost in- cessantly till Thursday morning, February 7. Tuesday, February 5, the water was over the sidewalk from the Eagle hotel to the Crescent brewery, and in all that portion of town north of Hogan creek, and between George street and the river. Then the rise was rapid, and the water extended up Second street to Mechanic street, up Third to Main, up Mill to the office of the Aurora Distilling Company, and up Main street to its intersection with Third.

Digitized by Google

494

DEARBORN COUNTY, INDIANA.

"The above part of this article was written Monday morning, when we had the faintest hope that there would not be much more to tell, but the rains kept coming until last night, when they finished early in the night with a heavy climax, and then the wind changed, and the most welcome cold snap that ever visited any community fell upon us and put a check to the rain, and gave us the hope that the river would not overflow the hilltops, at least. But the rainfall had been general through the whole valley of the Ohio, and the greatest of all floods was inevitable. Up and up and up it climbed, driv- ing people from one refuge to another, until at four o'clock this (Thursday) afternoon, February 14, 1884, it had reached a point six feet above the legendary flood of 1832. It stood at this height for some time, as if meditat- ing whether to burst itself in one final effort to do yet greater things, and then it began very slowly to recede.

"In order that those of our readers who are away from Aurora may understand the height of the flood, we will give them a few old landmarks to go by. The water was just to the top of the door of the old yellow brick house on Cobb's corner, which house has stood in all the floods since 1832. It was eight feet and ten inches deep in Cobb's store; it stood in the gutter in front of Doctor Sutton's office, on Third street; it was about eight inches deep on the inside corner of the pavement at the Catholic church, on Fourth street ; it went up Second street as far as the front door of Tuck's building. at the corner of Bridgeway; it backed up Broadway nearly to Hogan creek, six inches more would have sent it through the entire length of Broadway; it stood several inches deep in Stedman & Sons' foundry ; it backed up Main street beyond Third, so that by stepping across the pavement from the front door of the old Asa Shattuck residence, one would step into the river; it was over the door knob of Doctor Bond's residence, on George street, and it was up into the yard at John Cobb's residence; it was in some places along the Ohio & Mississippi railroad, between Aurora and Lawrenceburgh, over the tops of the telegraph poles, and was over the roof of freight cars loaded with stone that were placed on Wilson creek bridge. Those of you who have only seen the high water of 1832 and 1847 in Aurora, have no idea of what a real high water in the Ohio is. The highest point of the present flood stands within half an inch of being six feet above the once famous flood of 1832, and is three feet and two inches above the flood of last year."

A week later the same paper, in counting up the loss sustained and sum- marizing the situation that confronted the city, remarked as follow :

"We do not believe Aurora's loss will foot up more than $20,000, unless

Digitized by Google

49.5

DEARBORN COUNTY, INDIANA.

· you count the loss of time to factories being idle; and how often are they shut down to reduce stock, or by reason of a strike, for a longer period than the flood closed them? True, Aurora has lost more houses than she did last year, and more are off of their foundations, but the loss of household goods is not nearly so great this year, and the loss of mercantile stock is actually nothing worth naming, while last year it was very great, because people would not then believe that the flood would surpass every previous one, and did not get out of the way. Taking all things into consideration. we cannot help but believe that Aurora has suffered less this year than she did last year, although this flood has been with us, and upon us, more than twice as long as that of 1883."

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

History of Dearborn County, Indiana : her people, industries and institutions, Part 47

Author: Archibald Shaw Publication date: 1915 Publisher: Number of Pages: 1123

Author: Archibald Shaw
Publication date: 1915
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1123