Carrying On During the Flood of 1902

 by Erin Doane, Curator

What would you do if you saw flood waters rapidly rising in the street in front of your downtown business? Would you barricade the door and hope it was enough to keep the deluge out? Would you rush to carry as many things as possible to higher ground? Or would you organize a flotilla of boats to keep patrons coming and going even as the water washed into the building? The last one is what Jerry Collins, owner of Jerry’s Sideboard on Water Street in Elmira, did on March 1, 1902.  

Men in boats in front of Elmira Saddlery Co. and Jerry’s Sideboard, East Water Street, March 1, 1902

The great flood of 1902 began innocuously enough on the evening of February 27 when it began raining. The steady rainfall continued overnight and through the next day. In addition to the rain, temperatures were getting warmer and melting the large buildup of snow and ice left by a cold, stormy winter. By the afternoon of February 28, the Hoffman Creek had overflowed its banks and the newspaper was warning that more flooding was likely.

100 block, East Water Street, Flood of 1902

At 8 0’clock the next morning, water started flowing into the basements of buildings on the north side of Water Street. Just a few hours later, the street was covered in nearly a foot of water. The flood waters continued to rise at nearly two feet an hour until the river finally crested at 1 o’clock in the afternoon. The southside of the city was entirely flooded, as was everything on the northside east of Madison Avenue. Hundreds of homes and businesses were under water. The city’s gas mains were shut off, electric plants had failed, and trolley and train service was suspended. Household furniture, clothing, dead chickens, and live rats clinging to cakes of ice flowed down the river.

Elmira Gazette and Free Press headlines, March 1, 1902

One would think that at this point in the middle of catastrophic flooding, all businesses would be shut down, but that was not the case on the afternoon of March 1. While it was true that very few merchants were up and running in the flood zone, boot and shoe stores and hardware stores, in particular, were open and doing brisk business. From as early as 9 o’clock that morning, pedestrians filled any downtown street that remained dry and boats carried people over submerged streets even though members of the police and fire departments had stretched safety lines to keep people out of the flooded areas. Downtown Elmira was said to have resembled a circus day or a gala holiday with so many people out and about. Camera fiends were out in force as well taking hundreds of photographs (of which CCHS has a few dozen).

East Water Street, Elmira, March 1, 1902

Jerry Collins saw the sudden influx of people during the flood as a business opportunity. He established a ferry line to bring patrons to his bar, Jerry’s Sideboard, at 204 East Water Street. There were several inches of water covering the bar’s floor, but that didn’t seem to bother those seeking refreshment. Collins, the “Adonis” of local bartenders, had worked at the Hotel Rathbun for years and had just opened his own bar in 1901. His popularity as a bartender may have been why people decided to continue patronizing his establishment despite the natural disaster taking place all around them.

Jerry Collins (circled) with a group of men in front of his bar, March 1, 1902

It does seem like bars and taverns in general were particularly popular gathering spots on March 1 and 2. The Elmira police reported receiving 28 calls on those days during the height of the flooding and its immediate aftermath. Some of the calls were seeking relief for flood sufferers, but the majority were reports of intoxicated people who needed to be taken home or to police headquarters.

Men with high boots having great sport in the water during the flood of 1902

While the flood of 1902 was a major disaster that destroyed countless homes and businesses, it did not take any lives. Everyone directly involved in the flooding survived to recover and rebuild, including Jerry Collins. He continued to run his bar for another year before moving out of the area in 1903.

 

Floating History

by Kerry Lippincott, Education Coordinator

Flood of 1972

This month marks the 40^th anniversary of the ’72 Flood.  To commemorate the flood we have a variety of activities planned at the museum, through our Facebook page and on our blog.  On Thursday June 21 the exhibit Memories of the ’72 Flood opens in the Barn Gallery.  Everyone who lived through the flood has a story.  Through images, objects and oral histories, Memories of the ’72 Flood shares those stories.   In addition to viewing the exhibit, during the opening visitors can listen to period music, share their own flood story and attend “Don’t Blame The River,” a panel discussion sponsored by the Friends of the Chemung River Watershed.  The June edition of The Chemung Historical Journal features articles about the flood as seen through the eyes of emergency responders and the Chemung County Historian Archie Kieffer who was the Superintendent of Buildings and Grounds for Chemung County in 1972.  Our Gift Shop specials continue with the flood issue of the Journal (August 1972) on sale for $3.00.  On Facebook we are asking people to help us locate flood level markers that were issued by the historical society, sharing flood photos from the Booth Library and providing a day to day timeline of the flood.  Throughout the month look for posts here about Operation Rebuild and tips on how to care for water damaged collections.

As we were preparing for Memories of the ’72 Flood, I got extremely curious about Chemung County’s flood history.  My curiosity got the better of me and I discovered a few things.  It should be no surprise, that there have been floods throughout the county’s history but there is a difference between ‘smaller’ floods which never cause much damage and ‘major’ ones that cause damage.  Perhaps this quote from a ’72 Flood oral history explains it best  – “We had been through a lot of floods but had never seen anything like this.  This flood was just unbelievable.  It went up a foot then another  foot and another foot and it just kept coming and it just did not stop.  And most floods you would see recede by the next morning and you wouldn’t have any water there and it would be gone.”   

Flood of 1889 - Corner of Madison Avenue and Church Street

There have been over 23 recorded major floods in Chemung County’s history.  The first recorded flood was in 1784.  Another fact I discovered is that people in the 18^th and 19^th centuries liked to name the floods.    The 1784 was the Ice Flood. 1833 had the Great Inundation (1833) and the Tremendous Flood occurred in 1861.  There were even several Pumpkin Floods where pumpkins actually floated down the Chemung River.  During the 1817 flood pumpkins made it all the way to Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania.  Can you imagine!  1857 wasn’t a very good year as there were 3 floods in June, July and November.  The worst recorded flooding in the 19^th century was the St. Patrick’s Day Flood of 1865.  Since snow began falling in October 1864 and pretty much never let up, it should not have been a surprise that the Chemung River flooded once the snow began to melt.  Lower areas of the Confederate Prison Camp (mainly the small pox hospital) were evacuated while in the higher areas prisoners were ordered to stay on the second and third tiers of their bunks (where they remained for two days).  The flood even washed away 2,700 feet of the camp’s stockade wall. 

Flood of 1902

Beginning with St. Patrick’s Day Flood it seems each new flood “topped” the last one.   Not only that but it seems several floods were followed by more inclement weather.  The Flood of 1889 topped the St. Patrick’s Day Flood.  The Flood of 1902 topped 1889.  After two days of flooding in March 1902 the area was hit by sharp temperature decline and a snowstorm.  I should point out the mayor of Elmira at the time was Frank Flood.  The Flood of 1946 topped 1902.  In May and June 1946, five days of rain were followed by flooding which was then followed by 2 severe windstorms.  Of course the ’72 Flood topped 1946.

Flood of 1946 - Corner of Main and Water Streets

My favorite flood story is simple flood marker kept by Asa Parshall showing flood crests near Katydid Curve in Chemung.  Mr. Parshall’s marker - a tree! 

Do you have a flood story?