The 1913 Flood of Dayton Sarah Toula SCI 190

Easter Sunday of 1913 *On March 23, 1913 heavy rains began to fall all across Ohio and into parts of Indiana. *In some places the rainfall reached well over 10 inches. * The highest rainfall was recorded in Bellefontaine. The rainfall their was recorded at 11.16 inches.

Why was Dayton hit so hard with flooding? This flood was especially devastating to Dayton because Dayton is the center of four major waterways: the Great Miami, the Mad River, Wolf Creek, and the Stillwater River. Dayton was covered in 20 feet of water. The water flow reached speeds of 25 miles per hour.

Trains and Businesses Suffered - trains were unable to function due to massive damages - Railroads were actually uprooted -Trains were so filled with water that the engines would not start - Much of the freight was damaged and even ruined Businesses - the dry goods were sold out - the telephone surfaces were almost all out - business really suffered from the flood

Many Died There were a total of 467 deaths recorded due to the flood. People were forced to live in the tops of their homes because many homes were flooded with up to 10 feet high waters.

Terrible Stories Kay McCullough told a story of her grandfather from the flood. Her Grandfather told her that his father had to tie a rope to the door to keep it shut. His father then went outside with one of his brothers to check on their animals that they had in the barn. The two did not survive outside though. Their bodies were found two days later. They had died due to the extreme flooding. They both drowned in the rapid waters. Their youngest child who was only an infant also died from the horrible conditions.

Rescue Efforts John H. Patterson launched a major rescue effort for Dayton. He was the owner of the National Cash Register Company. He had his company stop their production of cash registers and instead he has his workers construct boats and whistles. He also began the Dayton Citizens Relief Association. This association collected food and clothing for the victims and also provided them with temporary shelter. Soon after the flood this association raised money to build a series of 5 dams to ensure that a flood of this magnitude would never occur again.