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The Dayton Flood - 1913

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“Nature is sometimes subdued But seldom extinguished”

Sir Francis Bacon

(1561-1626)

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The Miami ValleyBetween the years of 1780 through 1790 pioneers moved into the Miami Valley

Through treaties and war many of the Native Americans, including the Shawnee and Miami, were moved for forests to be cleared for farming

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Changing TimesLike other pioneers, new farmers to the Miami Valley settled near the most fertile lands adjacent to the waterways

These rivers assured water for agriculture, transportation for people and goods, and energy to run the mills

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Changing TimesDue to the crisscrossing of railroads the Miami Valley experienced rapid population growthBy the 1870’s Dayton had become a nationally important center for the production of railroad cars and the manufacturing of cash registers

The National Cash Register Company (NCR)

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Warnings IgnoredAs the men and women of the Miami Valley prospered economically and politically they paid little attention to the warnings signs of a disaster in the makingThe valley experienced the shaking of an earthquake in 1811Tornadoes had occasionally struck the Miami Valley - none with much force

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Warnings IgnoredThe Miami Valley had experienced several floods throughout the 1800’s

1805, 1828, 1847, 1866 The flood of 1805 brought 8 feet of water to the city streets of DaytonIn the aftermath, the citizens of Dayton decided to construct earthen levees along the Great Miami River

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Warnings IgnoredAlthough the flood of 1898 set record crest levels, the citizens of Dayton felt no sense of urgency to construct more effective means of flood controlNo new channels in the river bed were dug, no new levees or dams were builtThe existing levees were typically patched up and repaired after the spring rains

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Mother Nature’s WrathIn the spring of 1913 the Miami Valley would be at the center of three massive air masses that would collide over the valleyOne system developed in the Gulf of Mexico which moved quickly northThe second swept down out of CanadaThe third moved westward from the Great Plains

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Dangerous ConditionsBy March of 1913 the three weather systems converged on the Miami ValleyFrom March 23 to March 27 eleven inches of rain fell saturating the Miami ValleyThis amount of rain could not have come at a worse timeThrough the first days of March light rain had fallen on the area

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Dangerous ConditionsThe ground was unable to absorb more moisture because of melting snow and ice and the early spring rainsThe extra water drained into the creeks and rivers that flowed downstream towards DaytonAll together, nearly four trillion gallons flowed through the Miami Valley

30 days flow over Niagara Falls

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Disaster Strikes DaytonOn Saturday and Sunday March 22 and 23 swollen rivers overflowed their banks upriver in Piqua and TroyBy Tuesday the waters had reached the city streets of DaytonEventually the flood would cover about fourteen square miles

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Disaster Strikes DaytonFrom the first day of the disaster, rescuers used whatever they could to save people stranded by rising watersPeople did whatever they could to reach safetyThose stranded by the water waited on rooftops for rescue from passing boatsPeople crawled along telephone lines to reach higher ground

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Disaster Strikes DaytonDayton’s industrial leaders assisted in the rescue effortsNCR’s John H. Patterson used his factory and carpenters to build rescue boats and organize rescue crews The Business Men’s Association established relief stations providing food and clothingRailroad owners sent trains out of the city to find provisions

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A Horse Struggles the Current in Downtown Dayton

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Waiting For Rescue

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Rescued by NCR Boat

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View from the Main Street Bridge

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The AftermathAs the flood waters receded the damage became evidentIn Dayton, 123 people lost their livesProperty damage exceeded $100,000,000 dollarsAt least 1,000 homes were destroyedNearly 1500 horses drowned

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The AftermathIn early May, 1913 life in Dayton was beginning to return to normalTons of mud and debris were removed from the city streets by wagons, trucks, and trains provided by NCRThe Bicycle Club hauled away all the dead animals to an incinerating plant outside of the citySoldiers rebuilt sewer, water and gas services

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Flood PreventionBy May 1913 the citizens of Dayton began to develop plans to prevent a future disasterBy 1915 Dayton business leaders, engineers, and the Ohio General Assembly had established the Miami Conservancy District

Created the “Official Plan”Five dams

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Building For The AgesMassive construction projects were begun by February 1918The Miami Conservancy District assembled the newest technology of the time

Over 1,000 workers200 dump trucks73 miles of electrical transmission lines29 locomotives80 trucks and cars

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Building For The AgesAlthough the dams were built with conventional technology each was installed with the newest innovation:

The hydraulic jumpThe dams would feed water over low dams into “pools”These pools would control the amount of water that would flow downstream

Flood prevention

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Sustaining The SystemThe construction of the dams was completed by 1923Over the years the dams have been inspected by District engineers for structural wearThe last comprehensive study of the dams in 1962 determined them to be “generally in an excellent state of preservation” and the “integrity of flood protection is intact”

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Englewood Dam - 1919

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Huffman Dam - 1920

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Taylorsville Dam - 1920

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Germantown Dam - 1920

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Lockington Dam - 1920