“I AM POSITIVE THEY ARE DEAD”
SOUTH DAYTON - Part One
The flood water rushed through downtown Dayton and hurried toward the southern edge of town, not stopping until Main Street began to rise near the Fairgrounds. Fortunately, Miami Valley Hospital sat on high ground as well, which proved a blessing as hundreds of victims of the flood began to arrive, ill from being without food, water or heat for several days.
EMMA GRIMES
Emma Grimes wrote to her sister, Kate Bowlus, on April 4th, 1913. Emma mentions that she lived at 929 Brown Street, near Miami Valley Hospital, where she worked in the Laundry. Her other letters, concerning Dayton after the flood, are on pages 145-148.
…Kate I have so much to tell I don’t know how to begin. Such sights, horrors and suffering, and surprise and fear I hope you none of you will ever experience while you live…
I got up a little late that Tuesday morning and at Breakfast all of them was telling me that all the whistles had blown at four o’clock for a flood. I did not take it seriously and as the water never was known to reach where my house is I thought I was safe. When we started up in the Laundry at 7 a.m. half the girls were missing and I began to think something. And at 7:30 the water works Dept. went under… that is in the southern part of the City and we are in the south part. The electric lights went, next gas went, and then we were helpless to work or care for patients. Then a man came running for me to save my things at home and I got as many men as I could to come with me and Sister the water then was two houses from me. And we worked to save all we could till I was ready to drop dead. We carried a lot upstairs and carted some out in a high shed, with a roar of water like a river running in the cellar and all around us. My sideboard and kitchen cupboard and dresser and two gas stoves were ruined. I lost my good shoes, a new dress and mud several inches deep on all that we could not carry upstairs. And a lot of men in my yard filling tanks of well water for the Hospital use. Such a horrible time as that was. When the water was too deep we left and went out the back gate which is on a raise and the water did not reach at all. And oh the horrors of the next few days. No light no heat no water but what we caught from the rains. And in the dark nights to see the awful fires raging in all parts of the City and no relief at all for them. With a field glass from the Hospital we could see the people crawl over roofs in the cold rain and jump into the water to get away from the fire.
I worked for newborn babys and all in ice water and hung clothes out in the cold to try and help care for patients and oh Kate such sights as we saw brought here.
St. Elizabeth’s Hospital was flooded and this Hospital and the Cash Register cared for all that was rescued at first, untill order was gotten out a little better. And almost all family’s had some missing and such excitement and horrors. Mr. John H. Patterson is the Grandest most noble generous hearted man that lived since our Heavenly Father’s time, his plant manufactures its own light and has its own water system, and in all this dark horrible City those awful long nights of fear the Cash Register had every window of its great factory and offices one blaze of light. It was a monument to the City. This Hospital exchanged well patients to them for sick until a lot of nurses and Doctors could get to Dayton. We are out of food Kate. Sister we can get canned goods given to us but we have no meat, eggs, butter or milk. I sent to you for some, and if you can send me a small box of those things I will pay you as soon as I can for them. I am almost sick from exposure and fear and I need something very badly. I won’t ask none of the folks out here for anything. Bess sent me Sunday a few things. We can’t buy these for everything has been destroyed in the City. Lillian and Omar lost all, everything they had and was wet and sat in a cold garret three days and nights and Omar’s hair’s turning grey from it.
FRED F. ARING
Fred F. Aring, of 221 East Jones Street, was working in a telegraph office in south Dayton in 1913 when the flood arrived. Excerpts from his amazing diary are reprinted below.
March 25, 1913
4:00 A.M. – At South Dayton telegraph office
About this time we had received meager reports from operators North and South of Dayton that the Miami River had been and still was rising rapidly. At this point (South Dayton) the river already was out of its banks but, as there are no levees here, this was to be expected. At numerous other times the fields hereabouts have been flooded with little or no material damage. Certainly, no general flood is expected. Telegraph and telephone wires between Dayton and Middletown apparently are down as no report South of Carlisle, Ohio has been received since 3:30 A.M. Water rising rapidly here.
4:30 A.M.
Water now about four feet deep under South Dayton telegraph office with a strong current running. Received word from Bell telephone operator that a levee in Mad River had broken and that North Dayton was ‘filling up’. As North Dayton is very low, this report was not a surprise. Understand all railroad bridges have been weighted down with cars loaded with coal to hold them in position against the strong current. Water is still rising.
5:00 A.M.
Water now measures 4 feet 9 inches under the office. A great deal of drift is coming down stream. An elegant dinging table passed here a few minutes ago and numerous out-buildings, such as chicken coops, etc. are going by. Current is swifter than a short while ago. No real damage here yet. I wish it was seven o’clock so I could go home. I am anxious to see the City once more.
5:30 A.M.
Water is just a trifle over five feet deep here now. All kinds of drift coming down: Boardwalks, fences, small buildings and some furniture. Telephone operator says that North Dayton is about filled up and that the levees of the Miami River are beginning to look dangerous. I hardly think they will break. The water does not seem to be rising as rapidly as a few hours ago. But it is still raining hard.
6:00 A.M.
Water is now 5 feet, 6 inches deep under the office and rising very slowly. Operator at Carlisle, Ohio, who had intended coming to Dayton to take some pictures of the high water, has just told me that he will not come for fear that he will not be able to get back as the trains from the North are being reported ‘indefinitely late’. I don’t blame him much.
6:30 A.M.
Water now seems to be at a standstill here with very little drift coming down the river. It will probably go down steadily from now on. Hope so anyway.
6:55 A.M.
Water has begun to rise again and much faster than ever. It has risen at the rate of about an inch every five minutes for the past quarter of an hour. It lacks only 9 inches of coming into the office. I see my relief coming and I am not going to lose any time getting to town as I want to see the high water. Rain is coming down in torrents now.
8:00 A.M.
I left the office at 7 o’clock prompt and arrived at the railroad bridge at 7:40 A.M. It poured down all the way to town. No street cars running. Water in the streets on both sides at Washington Street where we leave the ‘speeder’. The railroad bridge is being held down by about 35 cars of coal over which I crawled to get across. Water was flowing over the levee on both sides of the railroad tracks on the West side of the river. Not very many people trying to get across the river over the coal cars, as it is too ‘risky’. But I made it. Water is well up on the girders of the bridge and the noise of the rushing water and the bumping of empty barrels against the girders is terrible.
I stopped at Mrs. Smith’s Millinery store, where my sister Bertha works, for just a few minutes. The streets are almost deserted.
I arrived home at 8:10 A.M. and found the water on Jones street over the sidewalk. So I used the ‘alley gate’ to get in. This is all back water which the storm sewers cannot take. As I was soaking wet from my trip home I quickly changed clothes with the intention of going back up town to see the sights at the Main Street Bridge. Just as I was about to start for town, Bertha came home with the word that the levee at the Main Street bridge had broken and that the water was running through the streets like so many rivers. As we are now all at home we start to bring things up from the cellar for safety. Father jokes about the water coming into our cellar. We bring the things up nevertheless.
8:30 A.M.
Mrs. Mueller, who lives next door west, informs us that the Water Works called her on the telephone to tell as many as she could that the water is putting out the fires under the boilers there and the pumps will need be shut down shortly. And if we want any drinking water for the next few days, we had better get it now. We get two tubfuls.
9:00 A.M.
Water is now in the yard and our cellar is filling up fast. It sounds like Niagara Falls. We begin to take things up stairs.
9:15 A.M.
Water is rising at the rate of an inch every three minutes. It being about an inch higher outside than inside as we can see through the crack in the door. Nearly everything movable is now up stairs.
9:30 A.M.
Everything is up stairs now except a folding-bed. It is too heavy; one stand and lower part of the davenport. The water was just a little too fast for me or I might have gotten it up also. It might not have made the turn at the head of the stairs though. Water is now about knee deep in the house and about three inches higher out side. Mother and I wade in the water to get the curtains and pictures from the walls. Water is rising very rapidly.
10:00 A.M.
What little is left down stairs will have to remain there as the water is too deep to get it. It is rising about an inch every ten minutes as I can see on the stairway. All kinds of furniture, out-buildings, fences, board-walks etc., are floating through street. Horses, turned loose by their owners, are swimming back and forth. The owners should have ridden them out to higher ground, thus saving themselves as well as the horses. A horse cannot sink because of body bulk but eventually will have to give up from exhaustion and drown. Water still rising but not so fast. We have nothing to do now but watch the water. We are prisoners in our own home. Water now five feet deep down stairs.
2:00 P.M.
Water is not much higher than it was a few hours ago but it is still rising slowly. There are two horses on a neighbors’ front porch trying to get into dry territory. They will have to move soon if the water rises much higher. Just saw two dressers and a refrigerator tied together (someone’s raft no doubt) go floating by. All kinds of fences, shutters, small buildings and some furniture still floating by.
2:30 P.M.
I just helped Bertha and Elsie (sisters) to a neighbor’s house by placing window shutters from our house to the roof of their porch, leaning the other end against our house. Also put Mother (weight about 200) into our attic by piling up furniture to form a stairway and scattering mattresses, clothing, etc. on floor as protection if she slipped. SOME job!! Water still rising. The horses on the neighbor’s porch this morning, have kicked in a front window and have gone. I think they are in the back yard but cannot see as there is no window on that side.
3:00 P.M.
We have seven feet of water in our house now. It is up to the tenth step on the stairway. I just saw a little green cottage float down Clay Street – about a half-block East of here – another cottage about a square to the West of us has moved out on the sidewalk and is stuck against two trees. Much drift going by again, and a lot of new lumber, too. This is from the Dayton Lumber & Mfg. Co. no doubt, about a half mile Northeast of here. Hope the water doesn’t go much higher. It is still raining and still rising.
3:30 P.M.
About 8 feet of water downstairs now. The current in the street is getting much swifter. A nice new canoe just passed our house. It was empty. Still raining and the water is still rising.
4:00 P.M.
I was just up on the roof to see the sights. A lot of people are building rafts on their roofs from doors, shutters and furniture. There are three sheds jammed against our house. If necessary we can use one of these for a raft. The two horses that were on the neighbor’s front porch are in the back yard as I thought. One is tangled in a tree and the other is trying to climb onto a roof. Have a camera but no plates or I might be able to get some interesting pictures. People who have been on the roofs of cottages since morning are being taken into 2-story houses by means of ropes or improvised bridges. Folks across the street say that the water is only within two inches of their second floor. We have just a little over 8 feet deep downstairs now and rising about an inch an hour.
5:00 P.M.
Just tried to light a gas stove to get a little heat as it is getting colder. Flame burned just about two minutes and then went out. Pipes are full of water I guess. No heat from that source so I will have to hunt up a coat but to find one will not be very easy as everything is topsy-turvy here. Furniture enough for four rooms has been crowded into two and it certainly is a mess. Two trunks on a part of a roof just passed our house. Nothing else. No folks there. Just happened to think of it – I haven’t eaten a bite since Four A.M. at the office. We have a little somewhere up here – but WHERE. But I’ll find it somehow. Water now 8 feet 2 inches and rising at the rate of an inch each 45 minutes.
5:30 P.M.
I just had two slices of bread and a pickle – tasted fine – and a cup of water. Almost as good as our Easter dinner last Sunday. Almost. It is now getting dark and folks getting ready to move into the attic for the night. I hardly think I’ll go up though. At least not until the water reaches the second floor. We now have about 8 feet 8 inches of water in the house but it is still rising slowly.
6:40 P.M.
Water is still rising but cannot say how fast as I have no light to see my last mark very well. The man next door has promised to watch the water while I try to nap for a spell. I am awful tired just now, not having had much sleep for nearly two days. The city is in entire darkness. Both electric light plants are under at least ten feet of water by this time.
9:30 P.M.
I slept just two hours and feel some better. My gauge shows a rise of about two inches for the last three hours. Current seems to be South now from the way it sounds. It is a strong current too and I would not be surprised if the house left the foundation before long. It cannot go far though unless those across the street go first. They are much larger and lower. Besides, we have a large tree in front to hold us back. I just found a Christmas tree candle by accident. This isn’t much but quite an improvement over no light at all. There is a big fire in the Southwest that does not look good for the people in that neighborhood, but it will not worry us as the wind is blowing the other way. It is a good half-mile from here. It is raining hard again. Will try to sleep a little more
Wednesday March 26
12:30 A.M.
I got a few more winks. My gauge shows that in the last three hours the water has risen 8 inches and dropped one inch. This is encouraging. We had about 9 feet 6 inches in the house when it reached its highest mark. The man next door says it began to fall at 12:05 A.M. I didn’t get too much more sleep but feel rested and a little more at ease.
4:30 A.M.
Water has fallen to the 8 foot mark now and is steadily falling. At this rate we ought to get out by Saturday. I am glad it is getting daylight. I never want to spend another night like last night. I wasn’t afraid so much for myself but there were a great many who were and all through the night I could hear them screaming and calling for help and firing pistols to attract attention but it was of no use; no one could help them. I guess it will be better tonight as the water is going down. Women and children did most of the screaming, but men did some of it. There are two men put on a tin roof about two squares from here who have been out there all night and they look as though they might be dead – someone is taking them inside now – I am positive they are dead. It was pretty cold last night and no doubt there was much suffering among those who had no shelter. One of the two horses that were struggling in a back yard near here has drowned and is wedged between two houses so a neighbor says. I don’t know what became of the other one but understand that it died the same manner in a yard across the street.
7:15 A.M.
Water is falling now at the rate of about three inches an hour. I just threw a bottle with a note inside asking the finder to please write. Wonder if I’ll ever hear from it.
8:15 A.M.
It is raining again but not hard. Water is still falling and a number of sheds and other rubbish is settling in our yard. The sheds are jammed tight against our house. This will be a nice mess to clean up. There were several explosions a few minutes ago which seemed quite close. I guess someone is dynamiting debris somewhere. We are going to try to put things in order a bit. This place looks a fright!!! The current is losing strength.
9:00 A.M.
Water is still falling. A man just passed in a boat saying that both the Lewiston and St. Mary’s reservoirs broke causing all the high water. He also said that all the river bridges are washed away. I hardly believe this because the new steel and concrete bridges at Main, Bridge, Third, Washington and Stewart streets are very strong and almost impossible to move. There are two canoes coming down the street, (canal would sound better) with crackers and water and milk for those with babies.
9:30 A.M.
Water still falling at the rate of about 4 inches an hour. We have shifted the furniture around a little and, altogether things look fairly decent. We eat again. This time it is bread and coffee. The coffee was cooked on a chafing dish next door and passed to us from their upstairs window. Very good coffee too. I wish the water was low enough to permit us to go downstairs and clean up the mess.
10:00 A.M.
I just built a chicken coop with shutters in a corner of a bedroom. So far we have lost but one of our chickens. An awful lot of mud seems to be settling as the water falls. There is a layer of mud about an inch thick on each stair step and it seems as though it might be deeper yet on the first floor. The water is still falling.
12:00 Noon
About six feet of water down stairs now. Nothing else to report.
1:30 P.M.
We just (got) mother down from the attic with much difficulty. In fact, with much more difficulty than we had getting her up. Again we eat – same as before – coffee and bread . We are getting so used to seeing the water in the street, we really wonder what the asphalt will really look like. Boats are passing here quite regularly now and it reminds me of pictures I have seen of Venice. The boats are quite different though, of course. Stage of water downstairs is now five feet.
2:30 P.M.
Stage of water 4 feet 7 inches. A big drop in the last hour. I was just up on the roof again and I can see a large porch stretched all the way across Jones Street and right behind it is a big pile of lumber which had been moved there just as it stood in the lumber yard. And behind it is a cottage in the middle of the street.
3:40 P.M.
Stage of water is now 4 feet 2½ inches. Two boys in a canoe just paddled by and advised that the Reibold Building (a large 10-story office building), is tottering. Foundation is supposed to have been weakened by the force of the water.
5:00 P.M.
I was just up in the attic from where I can see the Reibold Building, and it doesn’t look to me as though it was ‘tottering’. Those boys must have heard that from someone else. Stage of the water now is 3 feet, 8 inches.
6:00 P.M.
In the past hour the water has fallen to 3 feet, 5½ inches. Rate of drop seems to have been slowed somewhat. It’s almost dark again. There is a big fire up in town and it doesn’t look one bit good. The wind is blowing right in this direction carrying large ‘live’ sparks as far as our place. While the fire seems quite distant just now, but we don’t relish the looks of those sparks. The other fire of last night is out entirely.
Thursday March 27
5:00 A.M.
All night long the fire burned, sometimes higher and sometimes lower. It began to snow about 7:30 P.M. yesterday but it didn’t last long. It was a real blessing however, as it extinguished some sparks from that fire as fast as they fell. It surely was appreciated. Roofs are still white.
5:30 A.M.
I was just in the attic again to see that fire. It is blazing fiercely just now and looks as though it might be in the vicinity of Third and St. Clair streets. Lots of sparks are still flying and some are quite large, almost as large as your hand. Some are falling onto the sheds and other rubbish in the yard. But the snow is putting them out. More snow falling just now but the sun is trying to come out. Just measured the water downstairs – 11 inches – including the mud.
7:00 A.M.
I was just down stairs, standing on a chair and looking around. Mud to the depth of one to one and a half inches on everything. It seems the chandeliers have not been damaged. Even the gas mantles intact. In the front room I saw the stand I was forced to leave. It is still in one piece. Door was closed to other rooms and swelled shut. No doubt will have to be battered open.
The folks next door are able to be down stairs and are cleaning up their mess. Several boats just passed with glad news that sandwiches and hot coffee would be passed around in a short time. The water fell two inches in the last hour and a half and I figure I will probably be able to work downstairs by noon.
8:00 A.M.
We had our coffee and sandwiches. They were just fine. The sun is shining!!! Hurrah!!! We will soon be down stairs cleaning out the mud. Only 7 inches of mud and water left. It is falling faster now, or so it seems.
11:00 A.M.
Have been stalking around down stairs for the last couple of hours moving about on two chairs by placing one before the other to get about and brushing the mud from the higher places. Managed to get into the dining room by bumping the door slightly. That room surely is a mess. The folding bed has come apart and will make better kindling than anything else. The stove – a large baseburner - is covered with mud and rust. The chandelier is bent out of shape but I think it will bend back without taking it down.
The kitchen – one step lower than the rest of the house, and only one story in height, is really a mess. All the furnishings are topsy-turvy and, since it was only a one-story room, all the ceiling paper came down and pulled the sidewall paper with it, covering everything in it. There is some water in this room yet because of the lower floor level so I shall work in the front first.
Bertha and Elsie are leaving for dry land in a boat from our neighbor’s porch. Again we eat – coffee and sandwiches.
1:00 P.M.
I cleaned out the front room in a hurry. The mud was ONLY about six inches deep but it was easily handled as the water was not quite all the way down. This furnished me with a little muddy rinse water after the worst of the mud was removed with a wooden snow shovel. I also cleaned off the front porch.
3:00 P.M.
I just caught sight of myself in a mirror and immediately decided to shave and clean up a little. No, I have changed my mind – not going to shave because – I dropped my razor in a foot or more of mud and water, mostly mud, and cannot get until I clean up some of the mess in the kitchen.
5:00 P.M.
Just received some more ‘eats’ from a boat and so, we ‘dine’ again. It is getting cloudy and a little snow is falling. The fire in town is still burning but dimly and I think it has about burned itself out. Most of the people from around here have left in boats so the night should be very quiet in this neighborhood. The water is only about waist deep on the sidewalk now and, if anything happens, I think we can wade to safety. And now for the ‘eats’ and some much needed rest.
Fred Aring’s entries in his diary on what happened to him and his family after he was able to leave appears later in the book..
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