Milton Wright account- April 1, 1913 (2)
"On Tuesday, March 25, Dayton, Ohio experienced the greatest flood ever known since its first settlement one hundred and seventeen years ago. It had rained several days before, and had left some apprehension of an unusual rise in the waters. But, on the morning of the 25th, the waters began to pour upon places, hitherto never covered by the waters. It swept over a large part of the business and residential part of the city."
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| Panoramic formed by author by joining two postcard views, West 2nd Street looking east toward Main Street, during the March 1913 flood. 25/23 West 2nd, the building with the 2nd floor railing, sandwiched between The European Inn to the west, and Rike-Kumler to the east, was the location of the Wright Cycle Shop on 1895. Frank Beh "Artistic Picture Frame Maker and Gilder" can be seen located at 25 West 2nd. The Wright Cycle Shop was at 23 West 2nd. These buildings no longer stand, now location of the Benjamin & Marian Schuster Performing Arts Center. Click on image for larger view. |
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| 1913 view of West 2nd Street looking east toward Main street, Rike-Kumler and former 1895 Wright Cycle Shop location to west- After the waters receded, and cleanup began. |
"It invaded thousands of homes, and interrupted and destroyed the business of nearly the whole city. There was considerable loss of life, but small compared with the estimate of many imaginative persons. Many estimated a loss of several thousand people out of a population of more than one hundred and twenty thousand. There were a few hundred drowned, perhaps not exceeding two or three hundred. The business loss will be many millions of dollars."
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| March 1913 flood view of Main Street, Dayton, Ohio, looking north to the United Brethren Publishing House (furthest north), former office location of Milton Wright when editor of The Religious Telescope during the years 1869-1877. Note the business with "Forced to Vacate" sign, who apparently was not having a good year even prior to the flood. (3) |
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| Basement level of UB building as arranged in 1893 floor plan. As with all buildings in downtown Dayton, the entire level would have been under water in March 1913 flood. (4) |
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| First floor level of UB building as arranged in 1893 floor plan. Entire floor level would have also been under water, destroying books and other inventory at this level. (4) |
"After the rapid rise of the waters began, no one had time to save anything valuable- even valuable papers in the first story of the houses, and, in some cases, in the second stories. Jeweler's rich outfits were heaped on the floors of their shops; the richest goods were soaked on the shelves of the stores. Pianos and pianolas were ruined. Household furniture was soaked for over three days; and glued furniture crumbled to pieces. Many Bibles, and other records and books were soaked to ruin. But little escaped injury. A sediment of perhaps two inches was left on the floors and on the ground. It is very hard to remove it. Walls of dwellings need to be cleansed and papered anew. There is some danger that pestilence may follow."
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| West Dayton, Bank Street (close to the Great Miami River), a number of blocks east of the Hawthorn Street home of the Wright Brothers. Note the woman holding the shovel to remove the mud from the residence, apparently oblivious to the danger of the likely structural damage to the home due to all the overhead flood debris. |
"The city was declared under martial law, and companies of militia and regular soldiers patrolled the streets. A curfew was established and all required to leave the streets before six o'clock in the evening, nor to be on it till five o'clock in the morning. These have prevented much looting."
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| Fire damage in downtown Dayton Ohio, martial law declared. Courtesy of Library of Congress. Photo was published front page of April 19, 1913 Dayton Daily News, stating "Third Street looking west from a point just east of St. Clair, showing the ruin wrought by the fire that for a time threatened the complete destruction of the central portion of Dayton." |
"The railroads, the telegraph and telephone companies were stopped. Nearly everything came to a standstill. The post office was rendered inoperative. Natural and artificial gas was shut off.
Many horses were drowned, and dogs and cats and chickens were largely destroyed. "
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| Horse swimming for its life at right center in front of J. M Jackson Dry Cleaning. The father of Edwin and Beatrice Sines' nephew John Jackson, James M. Jackson, founded J. M. Jackson, Chemical Dry Cleaning and Dyeing business in 1911. The new business was located across from the Beckel Hotel at 24 North Jefferson Street. Ed Sines was a life long friend of the Wright Family. |
"The waters arose from six to ten feet higher than ever before. The waters flowed in a swift current down streets which had never been flooded before. Where I was we had no communication with our neighbors for two days. The corpse of a little girl floated down to the dooryard of our nearest neighbor to our north, and he (Daniel Snyder) waded and brought it into his house. The next morning after the flood, while I was at his house looking at it, it's father came in and sorrowing bore it away. While there a neighbor came by, saw me, and immediately reported me to my son Orville, who came after me at once. The children had seen me go away in a canoe, they knew not where, before they escaped. They advertised for me but could not find me for two days. I was at William Hartzell's, not more than three squares from my home, treated with the greatest kindness and Christian consideration by Mr. Hartzell and his family. They were Evangelical Lutherans. They divided their scanty fare with Mrs. Wagner and myself, like true Christians, (in the flood all fare was scanty). I never knew a nobler Christian man. His son Russel had the canoe which brought me to the safest place possible."
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| 1897
Sanborn maps combined by author (click on image for larger view).
Milton Wright's home at 7 Hawthorn at yellow star, upper left. Hartzell
home at 259 South Williams where Milton was taken by boat during the
flood is indicated with yellow star, lower left (shown as empty lot as
the home had not been built prior to 1897). Yellow star to the right
marks 144 South Sprague, home of 3 year old Catherine Washburn, the
little girl drowned in the flood and washed toward South Williams. Catherine's father Thomas, was a salesman for a milk company, 34 years old; his wife Emma 33. The couple had just celebrated their daughter's third birthday earlier that month. |
"Released from the flood, I dined with Orville and Katharine, and was taken to my son's Lorin's, in Dayton View. He had just before removed from his former home in the flooded district, to a beautiful home, above high-water mark. Here I am resting in his beautiful home and with his delightful family."
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| Shaded area represents flood extent. Lorin Wright and family had moved from their home at 1243 West Second Street to 331 Grafton Avenue just one week prior to the March 1913 Dayton flood. The map above indicates the location of Lorin's home at Second Street by the 1243 arrow. His home at 331 Grafton (north center) was well out of the flood zone. The blue star (C) marks the location of the Wright Cycle Shop. The black star (7) marks the location of the Wright home on Hawthorn. The black star (259) marks the location of the Hartzell home where Milton Wright was taken by boat as the area flooded. |
"The flood is a rebuke to a proud city and proud people. They hardly know that there is a God. Even good people here are largely swallowed up with the lying spirit of the times. Some now will think."
Milton Wright account- April 14, 1913 (5)
"Imagine a city of 125,000 people with two thirds of it covered by a swift flowing river for two days and nights, and you have Dayton, in the flood......"
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| Portion of four page letter written by Milton Wright to his grand niece Grace Frazier, April 14, 1913, from Author's collection. |
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| Hawthorn Street during the March 1913 flood, looking south from 4th street. To the left is 4 Hawthorn, home of Newton Haywood, and the roof and porch of 6 Hawthorn can be seen beyond. To the right, 1 Hawthorn, then the Wright's home of 7 Hawthorn with porch, then 11 Hawthorn. The side of 15 Hawthorn is visible, and 19 and 23 Hawthorn blend in with the trees and six feet of water. Photo courtesy of Special Collections and Archives, Wright State University. |
"Orville's loss was about 1000 dollars about our house, a thousand in his new business house and its business, and a thousand on his automobile which was water soaked and injured, but is repaired and in use again. He was a light loser in proportion......"
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| Orville's "business house", The
Boyd Building, as it appeared in 1915 as pictured in The Journal Herald,
May 18, 1915 issue, NW corner of West Third Street and North Broadway. Orville's Lab had yet to be constructed. The Mecca
Theater can be seen immediately west of the Boyd Building, constructed
in 1914. |
"We had three fires during the flood. The largest was on E. Third Street. It burned a Presbyterian Church. Another was just west of Orville's office, with his valuable papers, which escaped the fire......"
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| Flood
and fire damage at West Third and Broadway, just west and opposite side
of street from location of 1127 Wright Cycle Shop. Orville's Boyd
building was at the northwest corner of West Third and Broadway,
completed just months before the 1913 flood. |
Milton Wright account- April 18, 1913 (6)
"Two-thirds of Dayton, at least, passed under the flood. It was the greatest flood in the history of the city. In my former article I understated its intensity. The depth of water was greater than I stated, and the sediment much greater. To say that the sediment was four inches deep is to state the situation lightly."
"Over three weeks have passed and yet the many thousands of homes and shops and business houses are not nearly restored to their former condition."
"The military government has slackened but is still continued."
"Some of the public utilities of the city have partially resumed operation. This is true of the telegraphic and telephonic operations. There is yet but one line of electric cars that has fully resumed its former activities. Many of our people were till to-day shut off from natural gas, upon which they had hitherto depended for heating and culinary purposes. The post office and railroad communications were restricted rather than suppressed. A month will hardly restore complete operation of our public utilities.
Nearly all our public operations were either restricted or suppressed. Our public library lost many books and came to a stand-still. Most of our churches lost largely and await repairs. Our schools were all stopped and only some have resumed operation. The dry goods and groceries and drug stores were great losers, and are only gradually resuming their business.
It is useless to estimate the damage of this great flood. An estimate of from fifty to one hundred millions of dollars is not an extravagant amount for the damage done. The loss of life had probably been less than two hundred. There are not over a hundred persons now known to have drowned.
By dredging deeper and making wider channels for our rivers, a flood as great as that just experienced could be rendered harmless. To form some more reservoirs up our rivers, if practicable, would greatly limit a flood. The bulkheads should be opened in those reservoirs, except in very high waters. Not any of our reservoirs did actually break, as has been reported that they did break. A system of reservoirs, wisely managed, would be a great relief in time of such a flood. They could also be made of great utility in dry times for water power and for irrigation."
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| From front page of April 10, 1913 issue of The Dayton Daily News, Author's copy. |
"I lost but a trifle by the flood. My children did not lose heavily in proportion. One entirely escaped loss. Already we had planned to be above high water mark. The Wright company factory is above the flood. Our home had been heretofore above the high waters, but I had been for months apprehensive of a greater flood. It came six months before our removal to higher grounds. All things are providential. But people especially term that unexpected and peculiarly remarkable, as providential. According to this last definition my escape from the flood was providential, and the acquiring of a place to go, was not less providential. This is written April 18 and I have to-day gone back to my home."
Milton Wright- "I regard
every thing as Providential. There is a providence that rules in the
world and the universe, sets up what He will, and tears down all He
will. It is in every thing. This includes human effort. This effort is
free under His guidance. He rewards and punishes at His pleasure, with
the most exact justice and grace. We could not run His kingdom and
dispense His grace. I have been from childhood convinced of His wisdom
power and benevolence. Generally punishment is of His benevolence and
mercy. If we could sit beside Him we should see all of His benevolence,
and therefore His glory. There is no benevolence and grace any where but
in Him and His doings. It is in God the Father, Jesus His Son and
through His Spirit......" (7)
Copyright 2024- Getting the Story Wright
Related post- The 1913 Dayton Flood, and the Wright Family
Notes:
1. Letter from Orville Wright to Mr. J. M. Erwin, Paris, France, July 31, 1913.
2. The Dayton Flood, Bishop Milton Wright D. D. Written April 1, 1913 and published in the April 16, 1913 issue of The Christian Conservator, Vol XXVIII, No. 38.
3. Cabinet photo of UB Publishing House from Author's collection.
4. Floor plan as published in Manual of the United Brethren Publishing House Historical and Descriptive, author's copy.
5. Milton Wright to Grand Niece Grace Frazier, April 14, 1913, Author's collection.
6. After the Dayton Flood, Bishop Milton Wright, D. D. Written April 18, 1913 and published in the April 30, 1913 issue of The Christian Conservator, Vol. XXVIII, No. 39.
7. From portion of letter from Milton Wright to Grand Niece Grace Frazier, June 9, 1910, Author's collection.
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