Raised railroad line, Jeffersonville, Indiana, 1913 flood

Description:	A raised railroad bed with two tracks in Jeffersonville, Indiana, during the 1913 flood. Telephone poles submerged in water line the left side of the track, and a few people can be seen standing on the track in the distance. In late March 1913, a series of severe weather systems resulted in days of heavy rain and record-breaking winds across the eastern and central United States causing major rivers and their tributaries to flood. Hundreds of deaths occurred and thousands were left homeless, making the 1913 flood one of the deadliest in U.S. history. Ohio was hit particularly hard and suffered over 400 deaths. Indiana deaths were between 100 and 200. In Jeffersonville, Indiana, a raised train bed west of town served as a second levee. However, the ceaseless rains and rapidly rising Ohio River began to weaken the embankment, which carried two tracks and measured 30 feet wide at the top and 60 feet wide at the base. In desperation, Jeffersonville Mayor, Dr. E. N. Flynn, approached David C. Peyton, Superintendent of the Indiana Reformatory located in Jeffersonville, for help with manpower to protect the railroad and the city. Approximately 150 inmates labored on the line for several days, securing tarpaulins on the embankment, filling sandbags and placing them on top, and extracting telephone cables from the mud. The effort succeeded in keeping the flood at bay. In gratitude, Jeffersonville residents raised funds to present a large banquet for the men.
Origin:	1913
Created By:	Duffy, H. H. (1877-1973)
Source:	http://cdm17251.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p17251coll21/id/61
Collection:	Transportation
Rights:	http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/
Copyright:	This image may be printed or downloaded by individuals, schools or libraries for study, research or classroom teaching without permission. For other uses contact: genealogy@hcpl.lib.in.us
Geography:	Jeffersonville, Clark County, Indiana
Subjects:	railroads floods

Further information on this record can be found at its source.