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Ohio, Wabash, and White Rivers flood collection

 Collection — Folder: S1538
Identifier: S1538

Scope and Contents

No author is given for this 28-page, typed manuscript. The narrative accompanied aerial photos showing the floods in Jeffersonville, New Albany, Madison, Lawrenceburg, and other places. Pages 1-8 gives a general report of the 1937 floor. Pages 9-22 tells of the trip by Governor Townsend and his party. Pages 23-28 continues the narrative decribing aerial views. The narrative tells of the work by WPA men. The Niblack levee north of Vincennes on the Wabash River was saved by "heroic efforts." Page 3 mentions the 1884 and 1913 floods, which the 1937 flood levels exceeded. Page 4 states: "The Coast Guard cutters were rushed by train from Chicago, and an emergency radio station was set up in the railroad depot." Page 13 states: "New Albany was damaged almost as badly as Jeffersonville." Regarding Lawrenceburg, on page 17, the report states: "A hurricane could not have wrought greater destruction than the terrific wall of water that swept through the town." On the last page, the narrative tells of a house, "firmly anchored down by a huge still which had been in the attic -- the only part of the structure heavy enough to withstand the force of the current."

Dates

  • 1937

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Legal title, copyright, and literary rights reside with Rare Books and Manuscripts, Indiana State Library, Indianapolis, IN. All requests to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted to Rare Books and Manuscripts.

Historical Note

The southern part of Indiana was flooded in 1937. Levees washed out. Whole towns, roads, and thousands of acres of farm land were inundated.

Extent

0.01 Cubic Feet (1 folder)

Language of Materials

English

Arrangement

This collection is paginated as the manuscript was typed.

Custodial History

This collection was received by Rare Books and Manuscripts as a donation from the Indiana Department of Public Welfare.

Accruals

No further additions are expected.

Processing Information

Collection processing and finding aid completed 2015/03/12 by Nikki Stoddard Schofield.
Title
Ohio, Wabash, and White Rivers flood collection
Status
Completed
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
Undetermined
Script of description
Code for undetermined script

Repository Details

Part of the Rare Books and Manuscripts Repository

Contact:
140 North Senate Avenue
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204 U.S.A.
317-232-3671