Warren County Local
History by Dallas Bogan |
Contributor: |
Dallas Bogan on 22 July 2004 |
Source: |
Dallas Bogan, Warren County, Ohio and Beyond (Bowie Maryland:Heritage Press, 1979) page 29 |
Return to Index to see a list of other articles by Dallas Bogan |
The month of March marks the eightieth anniversary of the Flood of 1913. The
Miami Valley was deluged with rain unprecedented in modern history, leaving
the County of Warren with the greatest natural disaster in recent times. The
hardest hit was the city of Dayton. With Dayton completely swamped with water,
because of the broken levees, the call for help rang out. Lebanon, a city hardly
recognized by name, came to its rescue. The city of Dayton depended on Lebanon
for telephone, telegraph and mail service.
The Dayton, Lebanon, and Cincinnati Railroad was the only railroad service to
reach Dayton from Lebanon. The Cincinnati, Lebanon, and Northern Railroad was
the only exit from Cincinnati to Lebanon, thus allowing a connection from Dayton
to Cincinnati through Lebanon. The railroad was used by the National Guard to
aid and assist the flood victims. Lebanon was set up as the mail center. Working
twenty-four hours a day with no time for rest, the mail personnel painstakingly
performed a duty that merited many credits. It was said that Lebanon probably
sent out as much as 10,000 loaves of bread. The women of the vicinity baked
much of this.
The Waynesville postmaster sent a mail wagon to Lebanon each day, which consisted
of mail from Waynesville, Lytle, Harveysburg and Corwin of this county; Spring
Valley, and Bellbrook of Greene County; and Centerville of Montgomery County.
The towns of Morrow, South Lebanon, Foster and Oregonia each sent mail to Lebanon
daily and Franklin was supplied at Lebanon for three days.
South Lebanon was assessed to be the hardest hit of the towns of the County.
There were just a few homes on the foothills on the north side of the town that
escaped the ravages of the Little Miami. Some of the houses were carried into
the swift current and parts of them were found between South Lebanon and Cincinnati.
Many of the one- story houses were completely covered with water, the occupants
being rescued by boat.
One family, the Silas Hill family, consisting of an aged mother
and an invalid brother, was forced to the attic. With the waters approaching
rapidly, Mr. Hill took a rail of a bed and knocked a hole through the tin roof
of the house, through which he pulled his mother and brother. Thinking he placed
them in safety upon the extreme top of the roof, was an oversight. Being engulfed
by the waters again, he secured a ladder, which was swimming nearby. With this
he made a bridge to the top of a tree, which grew in front of the house. And
over it they crawled and there, in the branches, they remained for seven hours
before they were rescued.
Morrow was placed second among the County's casualties. The property on Railroad
Street was completely wiped out. This being the principal business street, a
total collapse of the town was evident. Property in East Morrow was also a distressful
situation. The water in the post office stood at about seven feet. The first
sight of "laundered money" was seen by many of the residents at the
local bank. Senator John Holden had just arrived from Columbus
to find as pretty a little cottage as any could wish, practically ruined, for
the water had stood in it to the depth of five feet.
An old log house, which stood near the bridge at Morrow, is said to be responsible
for the destruction of several bridges down the river. It was so well constructed
that the mighty current of the Little Miami designated it to become a battering
ram.
The greatest financial loss of the County was at Kings Mills. George
C. King, who was in Chicago when the flood struck, estimated the loss
to the King Powder Co. and the Peters Cartridge Co. at $150,000. Talk of rebuilding
was finally concluded when it was decided that their financial loss would be
too great if they relocated. The only major damage was done to the two companies,
since the village of Kings Mills set high atop a hill.
The town of Foster's east side was completely wiped off the map, the double
bridge being completely washed away.
Next to the east came the two-story store building of Ben Rohling
in which he carried a $12,000 inventory stock. It was said that the store remained
intact until it struck the bridge at Loveland, about four miles down the river.
There it went to pieces with a crash. Opposite Rohling's store was a three-story
brick building belonging to Frank Maag. After the water struck
it, not a brick was to be found. East of Rohling's was a three story white brick
hotel. A floating barn knocked out the east end and the two lower stories were
heavily damaged.
The Pennsylvania station was a complete wreck. The telegraph operator conducted
his business from a little table in a corner of the women's waiting room, having
deserted the other parts of the building. To the east of the railroad stood
the Lutheran Church. It had filled with water, which ran through the broken
windows until the pressure took out the entire west wall. The organ and pews
were completely swept away.
Seven deaths were reported at Franklin. The Franklin Coated Paper mill, American
Writing Paper mill, Franklin Wheel Works, and Brown-Carson-Schieble Manufacturing
Co sustained great losses.
The west side, or the Mackinaw district, suffered most; practically all the
houses were under water. Eleven houses were swept away by the ravaging current
of the Great Miami.
The Miami Valley Chautauqua suffered heavily. All the buildings were swept away,
except the auditorium.
At Oregonia, the store of John
Sherwood suffered great damage, along with the residences along
the railway. The immediate damage was cared for and assistance from Lebanon
was not needed.
At Fort Ancient the bridge was swept away
by the rushing current of the Little Miami. There was some water damage to the
property paralleling the river. The water rose to a height of three and one-half
feet higher than ever before.
A total of six bridges were washed away in the County. Their locations were
at Fort Ancient, Mill Grove, Stubbstown,
Kings Mills, Fosters and Loveland.
Estimates at the time were in the range of $150,000 for the roads and bridges
and $150,000 for the approaches to the bridges and pilings, a total of $300,000.
Roads in the flood areas were ruined. At Fosters the water had washed holes
in the road up to four feet deep.
One day after the flood a railroad car came from Cincinnati to Lebanon. Ten
blue coats with Winchesters guarded it. The merchandise contained $300,000 in
cash consigned from the First National Bank of Cincinnati to John H.
Patterson at Dayton. Patterson confided that the residents of Dayton
need not wait on the State of Ohio for their needs, but the money shall be distributed
to the needy and Ohio could recompense him.
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This page created 22 July 2004 and last updated
28 September, 2008
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