Waters of March environmental, social, and commercial reactions to the Mahoning Valley flood of 1913

Abstract

The flood that devastated much of the Midwestern United States during Easter weekend in 1913 affected areas as far west as Nebraska and southward into Tennessee. Despite an apparent contemporary cultural amnesia toward the specifics of the flood, the resulting actions taken in the immediate years following the event have had a lasting impact more than a century later. Although Dayton, Ohio has the historical distinction of being the city most often associated with the event, it was simply first to apply for federal aid, and thus garner the majority of headlines. Calling this multi-state event the Great Dayton Flood belies the devastating economic and social impact the rains had across the Midwest, including the Mahoning River Valley. That region experienced its own loss of life, destruction of property, and subsequent recovery efforts. Curiously, many of the direct reactions to the flood also indirectly contributed to major increases in industrial capacity and quality of life improvements for both workers and residents. This thesis will use historical newspaper articles, archival photographs, county records and prior scholarly research to develop the argument that the construction of dams and reservoirs, as well as infrastructure redevelopment built during the aftermath of the flood, actually had a much more lasting impact on the area's productivity than simply future flood mitigation.