Columbus and the Great Flood of 1913

The Disaster that Reshaped the Ohio Valley

Conrade C. Hinds

• Publisher: The History Press
• Year: 2013
• Edition: 0
• eBook ISBN:
  9781625845177
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: North American History
• Index: History

Beginning on Easter Sunday, March 23, 1913, Columbus and the Ohio Valley endured a downpour that would produce the largest flood in one hundred years. Heavy rains came on the heels of an especially cold winter, resulting in a torrent of runoff over saturated and frozen ground. Rivers and streams quickly overflowed and levees failed, sending tsunami-like floodwater into unsuspecting communities and claiming four hundred lives. There were ninety-six deaths in Columbus alone when the swollen Scioto River emptied water that ran nine to seventeen feet deep through the streets of the near west side. Join Conrade C. Hinds and the Columbus Landmarks Foundation in a closer look at a flood disaster that reshaped the American Midwest.

Table of contents

• Front Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Preface
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction
• The Gamble of Living the Good Life in the Flood Plain
• An Alaskan Volcanic Winter at Our Front Door
• The “What” and “Why” of Floods and Flooding
• Ohio Flood History
• Twentieth-Century Flooding Puts on a Different Face
• Enter the Grand Champion of Ohio Floods
• West Columbus Caught by Surprise
• The Local Fear of a Dam Break
• Statewide Communication Failure and Restoration
• Wheeling, West Virginia, and Zanesville, Ohio
• Chillicothe and Dayton
• A Plan of Solutions and Opposition to Common Sense
• Epilogue: The Test of Readiness and Lessons Learned
• Appendix: Significant Events that Shaped the World of 1912–1913
• Bibliography
• About the Author