March 21, 1913: The Great Dayton Flood of 1913 hits Dayton, Ohio, killing 360

By the 1900, Dayton, Ohio was a city on the rise. Dayton had been a hot spot for industry and engineering, famously being home to the Wright Brothers. They tested one of their first airplanes there. The future seemed bright for Dayton. However, that would all change on the afternoon of March 21, 1913. March 21 was by all accounts a warm, sunny day, but by the early afternoon, it began to rain. The storm continued into Easter Sunday. As the townspeople lined up in their pews to give their Easter prayers, the rivers around Dayton surged. Dayton was at the confluence of three river tributaries, the Mad River, the Stillwater River, and Wolf Creek. Throughout its history, the town was subject to random flooding from the overflowing of these rivers. Eventually the town installed levies to protect them from the floodwaters. On Monday, the storm intensified, dumping 8 to 11 inches in the span of an evening. The rivers began to crest. On Tuesday morning, the levees broke. Dayton became inundated with river water. By Wednesday, the flood engulfed the town, drowning it in over 20 feet of water. The end of the week saw the waters recede, but not before exacting a deadly toll. In all, the flood would kill 360 Ohioans, and destroy over 20,000 homes.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

March 25, 1306: Robert the Bruce is crowned King of Scots

Image
Robert the Bruce was born in Turnberry Castle in Ayrshire, Scotland on June 7, 1274. He came from a long line of claimants to the Scottish throne, being a descendant of King David I. During his childhood, he was educated in history, civics and languages. He learned a variety of local dialects, French and Latin. Robert's early life was typical of a 13th century European noble. However his young life would soon be thrown upside down with the arrival of the English in Scotland. In 1286, King Alexander III died, his crown passed to a child named Margaret, the Maid of Norway. Due to Margaret's youth, the Scottish nobles assigned Guardians of Scotland to serve as regents until she would come of age. Then in 1290, Margaret died. This created a crisis between the five remaining claimants to the throne: John Balliol, John Hastings, Floris V, Count of Holland, and Robert. The Guardians feared a civil war, so they asked Edward I, King of England to mediate the situation. The King deci...
Read more

April 28, 1788: Maryland becomes the seventh state after it ratifies the United States Constitution

Image
Before European settlement, Maryland was home to the Iroquois and Algonquin peoples. During the 16 th century, Italian explorer Giovanni de Verrazano explored the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay; and John Smith further explored it in 1608. In 1632, George Calvert, 1 st Baron Baltimore, applied to King Charles I for a royal charter for the area surrounding Chesapeake Bay. When Calvert died, his son, Cecilius Calvert, 2 nd Baron Baltimore, was granted the charter in his stead. The colony was named in honor of King Charles’s wife, Queen Henrietta Maria. Upon its establishment, the colony of Maryland was predominantly Catholic, due to the shared religion of the Queen and Calvert’s. The new colonists landed at St. Clements’s Island on March 25, 1634. St. Mary’s City was established as the colony’s capital, and would remain such until 1695. In 1649, the colonial legislature passed the Maryland Tolerance Act, which fostered the free exercise of religion throughout the colony. However, whe...
Read more

May 2, 1863: Stonewall Jackson is wounded by friendly fire while returning to camp after reconnoitering during the Battle of Chancellorsville

Image
Throughout 1863, Robert E. Lee fought back against the Union advance toward Richmond. The Peninsula Campaign, was Union General George B. McClellan’s attempt to seize the Confederate capital of Richmond. Confederate President Jefferson Davis promoted his military advisor, Robert E. Lee to take command of the army and push back McClellan. Lee was able to push back McClellan at the Battle of Seven Pines; however, the battle would prove not only to be a watershed moment for Lee but also for another of his generals. During the battle, troops under the command of Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson led the charge against the Union soldiers. Jackson cut a very interesting figure. He was an uncompromising hypochondriac. He would suck lemons in the heat of battle, and keep one arm lifted because he felt it kept “the blood balanced.” However even with all of quirks, he was a brilliant tactician, with an utter disregard for the lives of his soldiers. But his soldiers loved him because he brought them...
Read more