1936 – March 17-22, Flooding, Kanawha, Ohio, Elk, New, Potomac Rivers, WV         —     26

Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 11-24-2024 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/

–26  United Press. “Huge Toll Taken By Flood Waters.” Altoona Mirror, PA. 3-25-1936, p. 3.

–26  Blanchard tally from locality breakouts below.

—  1  Harper’s Ferry area. Drowning; boat hits Potomac River bridge pier; Archie Nooce, 22.[1]

—  1  Huntington, Ohio River. Drowning; boy playing on raft fell; Earl Cline Chapman, 8.[2]

—  1  Parkersburg. Drowning; skiff capsizes; Warren H. Harman, 28.[3]

—  1  Point Pleasant, March 22. Drowning; boy fell crossing log foot bridge; ___Plants, 7.[4]

—  2  Welch area, Jacob’s Fork Creek. Drownings; 5-year-ld girls fell attempting to cross on log.[5]

—  3  Wellsburg. AP. “Flood in W.VA. Takes Tremendous Toll.” Beckley Post-Herald, WV. 3-20-1936, p. 1.

—  2  Drownings; skiff overturns as man steps in; Leonard and Deeneen.[6]

–17  Wheeling. Duffy. “55 Feet of Water – The 1936 Flood on March 19.” 3-1-2024. Archiving Wheeling.

            –1  Drowning; bottom of boat collapsed over 25th Street; Ernest Baily.

–1  Drowning; fell into flooded home basement; Jack Harris, 2-years-old.

–1  Jack O’Neill.

–16  Wheeling. Ohio County Public Library, WV. “1936 Flood.” Accessed 11-24-2024.

–14  Wheeling, 20th. AP. “Flood in W.VA. Takes Tremendous Toll.” Beckley Post-Herald, WV. 3-20-1936, p. 1.

            –10  Drownings

—  4  Gas blast in residence.

Narrative Information

 Duffy. “55 Feet of Water – The 1936 Flood on March 19.” 3-1-2024.” Archiving Wheeling:

“….By St. Patrick’s Day, the Wheeling Intelligencer noted that over an inch of rain had already fallen, and the temperature was dropping. By 9 AM that day, WWVA Radio had received its first high water warning from Pittsburgh with the prediction of water an alarming six feet above the 36 foot flood stage due to slam the town just two days later on Thursday, March 19. Moreover, it had been a severe winter all along the east coast. A combination of melting snow and ice combined with heavier than expected rain had bloated the Pittsburgh region’s three rivers to unforeseen levels.

 

“…[A] radio station would later publish a ‘Flood Souvenir’ that summed up the unprecedented result: “An avalanche of water poured into the Monongahela and Allegheny Rivers, which in turn emptied their swollen, raging torrents into the Ohio River.

 

“Wheeling, of course, was no stranger to massive Ohio River floods, its citizens having muddled through 52 feet in 1884, 51 in 1913, and 50 in 1907. But the 1936 flood was a behemoth from a different flood universe.

 

“The river would crest at 2 PM on March 19 at an astounding 19.5 feet above flood stage — 55.5 feet at Wheeling — inundating the entire city like never before, nor since, with floodwater covering more than 8 square miles: drowning the Island, much of South and Centre Wheeling, and downtown streets as far east as Chapline. Many houses and businesses were submerged up to their rooftops, trees were uprooted, joining menacing chunks of all manner of debris, propelled through the swift currents like juggernauts, roads and vehicles rendered unusable, with millions of dollars in damage done.

 

“The Suspension Bridge and Steel Bridge were closed, and the Market Auditorium was converted to Red Cross headquarters, as well as a relief shelter and makeshift hospital. Utilities were shut down, supplies cut off, and diseases like typhoid threatened. Warwood and “Out the Pike” were cut off from the business district. Hundreds of people were trapped in their homes, many without food or clean water or heat or electricity or phone service. More than 20,000 people were eventually driven from their homes, many rescued from rooftops by rowboats and other small watercraft able to negotiate the flooded streets. Seventeen people lost their lives. In fact, the flood pummeled the entire Upper Ohio Valley from Steubenville to New Martinsville and beyond….

 

“Further complicating matters, in 1936, less than half of US homes had a working telephone, and the raging waters had downed most of the poles and overworked lines in any event….

 

“On March 21, as the waters began to recede, the true horror of the flood’s violence slowly emerged. “Officials unable to estimate number of dead.” The News-Register reported. ‘Devastating wreckage slows search for bodies. Wheeling dug into mud and wreckage today to remove the bodies of its flood dead.’….

 

“‘Seventeen dead in the Wheeling district,’ the News-Register reported, ‘$5,000,000 damage in Wheeling alone; hundreds of casualties; half a dozen houses washed away and hundreds of others damaged…’

 

“By March 22, the city was under martial law.

 

“For Wheeling, the known death toll was 17. The physical/structural recovery would take months, even years. The psychological recovery was incomplete. The Great Flood of 1936 was a traumatic event and would haunt those who survived it to their own graves. The wounds would never fully heal, even with the passage of time. Even those, like the author, born many years after the flood waters receded, grew up hearing enough about the flood from our elders that even we have felt its enduring trauma.”

 

Ohio County Public Library, WV. “1936 Flood.” [On Wheeling] Accessed 11-24-2024:

“Date: March 17-19th, 1936

“Heavy snow and rain in March 1936 triggered the worst flood in Wheeling’s history. The river crested at a record 55.5 feet on March 19th, and floodwater inundated the Island, much of South and Centre Wheeling, and even the downtown streets as far east as Chapline. The Suspension Bridge and Steel Bridge were closed, and the Market Auditorium was converted to a refuge shelter and makeshift hospital. Utilities were shut down, supplies cut off, and disease threatened. More than 20,000 people were driven from their homes and 16 people lost their lives.”

 

Newspapers

 

March 18, Charleston Daily Mail, WV: “The Kanawha river exceeded the 29-foot stage at noon Wednesday, and police warned merchants in the downtown section of the city to clear their basements in anticipation of a 34-foot crest by night. Other rivers of the state were on the rampage following more than 50 hours of alternate rain and snow, and Governor Kump issued an executive order Wednesday for state police and other state agencies to ‘lend all possible aid’ to flood sufferers. State health department workers rushed to Ridgeley , in Mineral county, to take charge of sanitation work as the main part of the town was flooded with 5 feet of water from the Potomac river. Adjutant General F. Guy Ash, acting on orders from the governor, Wednesday moved to send to Pt. Pleasant 300 army tents and cots for the use of citizens who have been made homeless there by the flood of the Ohio river….

 

“The relief administration made immediate plans to dispatch food to sufferers in the Wheeling, Ridgeley, Pt. Pleasant and Harpers Ferry areas, which are reported to be the hardest hit….

 

“The Kanawha river was rising at the rate of 6 inches an hour Wednesday afternoon, rivermen said….

 

“Residents of towns along the Ohio river prepared Wednesday for what rivermen predict may be the worst flood since 1913 as other streams in the mountain state continued rampages through the countryside.

 

“Charleston was partially isolated Wednesday as the Kanawha covered the roads to Point Pleasant and two roads to the east. Ast the present rate of rising, U.S. route No. 119, the remaining outlet east, was expected to be blocked in the afternoon. Six meet of water covered the Dana underpass on the Midland trail, and was near the roads at Poca and Plymouth. Roads in many sections of the state, especially in the Ohio valley, were threatened as the Ohio and its tributaries rose rapidly….

 

“A 50-foot stage in the Ohio was expected at Point Pleasant by Friday or Saturday, which would put 10 feet of water into low sections of the city. At Parkersburg the U.S. weather bureau predicted from 4 to 8 feet above the 36-foot flood stage, and police and Red Cross workers prepared to rescue families living in the lowlands. Residents of Wheeling island had moved their belongings to second floors as officials predicted from 40 to 42 feet of water. The flood stage in the Wheeling area is 38 feet….

 

“In the central part of the state, where the recent rains caused streams to run wild before the rise in the Kanawha and southern streams, virtually every main roadway was blocked at one or more points Tuesday night [17th]. The water had begun to recede Wednesday, however, and road engineers reported that travel conditions should be almost normal during the afternoon….” (Charleston Daily Mail, WV. “Kanawha To Climb To 34 Feet.” 3-18-1936, p. 1.)

 

March 19, Charleston Daily Mail, WV: “All resources of the state were being mobilized Thursday [19th] to safeguard the health and welfare of the thousands of persons who have been driven from their homes by raging flood waters in every section of the state….

 

“Danger of higher water in the Kanawha and Elk rivers had passed Thursday, rivermen believed, as the streams fell at the rate of 5 inches an hour, after the Kanawha had reached a crest of 31.5 feet late Wednesday night, and the Elk 30 feet in the afternoon. The Kanawha river at Charleston at 2 o’clock had fallen to 26.5 feet, and continued dropping. New River was falling and had dropped to 8.3 feet at Hinton….” (Charleston Daily Mail, WV. “Flood Leaves 13 Dead in Wheeling, Roars South Toward Other Cities.” 3-19-1936, p. 1.)

 

March 20, Beckley Post-Herald, WV: “By The Associated Press. The Ohio River on the western border and the Potomac on the north roared on Thursday night to wreck further desolation after inundating Wheeling and Wellsburg in the northern Panhandle and Harper’s Ferry and Ridgeley in the east. Parkersburg, Point Pleasant, and Huntington, largest Mountain State cities in the path of the Ohio, prepared for a flood expected to reach its peak at the first named city tomorrow and in the latter on Saturday.

 

“Wheeling and Wellsburg remained isolated by the torrent that already had taken 17 lives by drowning and explosion.

 

“Flood damage in the Mountain State already was probably more than $2,000,000, the turbulent Ohio lapped at Parkersburg streets Thursday night, forcing more to abandon their homes.

 

“The river began receding at Wheeling and Wellsburg. Police estimated ten drowned, four died in the gas blast of a brick residence at the former city, and three drowned in Wellsburg. They said 5,300 ‘at a minimum’ were homeless. The water submerged Wheeling’s down-town district to a depth of three to ten feet. At Wellsburg, a majority of the houses had water up to their second stories.

 

“Tearing through New Martinsville, preparing three days for the flood, the river moved into Parkersburg. At that city, 350 families evacuated their homes earlier, took quarters in hospitals, a vacant industrial plant and an unused Transient Bureau. Emergency relief unit workers helped move furniture and other belongings from their homes in the lowland sections….” (Associated Press. “Flood in W.VA. Takes Tremendous Toll.” Beckley Post-Herald, WV. 3-20-1936, p. 1.)

 

March 21, AP: “Relentless flood waters swept down the Ohio valley Friday night, adding two more to the Mountain State’s known death toll and leaving scenes of desolation and possible pestilence. The list of dead stood at 19.

 

“Rescue workers bent all efforts upon preventing an epidemic as sources of drinking water become polluted in several communities. Hundreds rushed food and clothing to the terrified thousands huddled in emergency quarters on hills overlooking their water-logged homes.

 

“Two bodies were taken from the Ohio at Wellsburg, and police said the men probably lived in flood-ravaged western Pennsylvania.

 

“The rapidly receding Potomac left streets and gardens of Ridgeley strewn with dead animals and sewage. Health department physicians sent a hurry call for help at Green Springs, where the water plant was destroyed. But the muddy Potomac stubbornly encircled Harper’s Ferry, leaving the 705 residents perched on their hilltop houses isolated, with a limited amount of food. Health authorities sent typhoid vaccine there…” (AP. “List of Dead in State Now Stands at 19.” The Charleston Gazette, WV. 3-21-1936, 1.

Sources

 

Associated Press. “Flood in W.VA. Takes Tremendous Toll.” Beckley Post-Herald, WV. 3-20-1936, p. 1. Accessed 11-24-2024: https://newspaperarchive.com/beckley-post-herald-mar-20-1936-p-1/

 

Associated Press. “Flood Rivers Take Four More Lives In State.” Sunday Register, Beckley, WV. 3-29-1936, p. 1. Accessed 11-24-2024: https://newspaperarchive.com/beckley-sunday-register-mar-29-1936-p-1/

 

Associated Press. “Lad Is Drowned At Huntington.” Bluefield Daily Telegraph, WV. 3-22-1936, p. 1. Accessed 11-24-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/bluefield-daily-telegraph-mar-22-1936-p-1/

 

Associated Press. “List of Dead in State Now Stands at 19.” The Charleston Gazette, WV. 3-21-1936, p. 1. Accessed 11-24-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/charleston-gazette-mar-21-1936-p-1/

 

Associated Press. “Child of Relief Worker Drowned.” Beckley Post-Herald, WV. 3-23-1936, p. 1. Accessed 11-24-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/beckley-post-herald-mar-23-1936-p-1/

 

Associated Press. “Wellsburg Citizens Climb as 17 Feet of Water Fills Streets.” Charleston Daily Mail, WV. 3-19-1936, p. 1. Accessed 11-24-2024 at:

https://newspaperarchive.com/charleston-daily-mail-mar-19-1936-p-1/

 

Charleston Daily Mail, WV. “Flood Leaves 13 Dead in Wheeling, Roars South Toward Other Cities.” 3-19-1936, p. 1. Accessed 11-24-2024 at:

https://newspaperarchive.com/charleston-daily-mail-mar-19-1936-p-1/

 

Charleston Daily Mail, WV. “Kanawha To Climb To 34 Feet.” 3-18-1936, p. 1. Accessed 11-24-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/charleston-daily-mail-mar-18-1936-p-1/

 

Duffy, Sean. “55 Feet of Water – The 1936 Flood on March 19.” 3-1-2024.” Archiving Wheeling. Accessed 11-24-2024 at: https://www.archivingwheeling.org/blog/lifeline-the-red-cross-and-wwva-radio-during-the-1936-flood

 

Ohio County Public Library, WV. “1936 Flood.” Accessed 11-24-2024 at: https://www.ohiocountylibrary.org/history/1936-flood/5075

 

Radio Station WWVA. 1936 Wheeling Flood Souvenir. Accessed 11-24-2024 at: https://www.ohiocountylibrary.org/docs/20_WWVA-1936-flood-souvenir.PDF

 

United Press. “Huge Toll Taken By Flood Waters.” Altoona Mirror, PA. 3-25-1936, p. 3. Accessed 11-24-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/altoona-mirror-mar-25-1936-p-3/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[1] Associated Press. “Flood Rivers Take Four More Lives In State.” Sunday Register, Beckley, WV. 3-29-1936, p. 1.

[2] Associated Press. “Lad Is Drowned At Huntington.” Bluefield Daily Telegraph, WV. 3-22-1936, p. 1.

[3] Associated Press. “Flood Rivers Take Four More Lives In State.” Sunday Register, Beckley, WV. 3-29-1936, p. 1.

[4] Associated Press. “Child of Relief Worker Drowned.” Beckley Post-Herald, WV. 3-23-1936, p. 1.

[5] Viola Joyce Jessie and Clara Suos. (Associated Press. “Flood Rivers Take Four More Lives In State.” Sunday Register, Beckley, WV. 3-29-1936, p. 1.)

[6] AP. “Wellsburg Citizens Climb as 17 Feet of Water Fills Streets.” Charleston Daily Mail, WV. 3-19-1936, 1.