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.

 

Tales from a Flooded Hotel

by Erin Doane, Curator

On Wednesday, June 21, 1972, the rains from Hurricane Agnes began to fall on the Twin Tiers. By the next day, the Chemung River was at 15 feet in Elmira, local creeks were overflowing, and people all throughout the region had begun evacuating their homes. On June 23, the river overtopped the dikes in Elmira and surged through the city’s streets, submerging businesses and homes under feet of turbulent, muddy water. Local first responders and the National Guard rushed to evacuate hospitals and rescue as many people as possible from the raging flood waters. Through it all, the Mark Twain Hotel in downtown Elmira became a refuge, but not everyone got out alive.

Aerial view of Elmira, June 1972

The Mark Twain Hotel turned into an island as flood waters rose and was cut off from the outside world. Reports in the Star-Gazette estimated that there were 1,500 to 1,700 people who had fled to the hotel, but no one seemed to know who sent them there as it was not a designated evacuation site. The truth was that there were only 194 people at the hotel during the flooding including employees, registered guests, and people who sought shelter at the hotel as flooding intensified.

Roseanne M. Whitted and Nancy Rios were both working at the Mark Twain Hotel during the Flood of 1972. Our archive has an oral history recording of them telling about that time. Roseanne remembered working in the Connecticut Yankee Lounge in the hotel and repeatedly checking to see if the flood waters were rising. “We were basically going to the Grey Street entrance not thinking of the North Main Street entrance where the water would come in first.  Then when that appeared it was like ‘Oh, my G-d!’” When the water started coming inside, patrons helped her start moving things out of the lounge and upstairs to protect them from the rising flood.

Both Roseanne and Nancy lived at the hotel as part of their compensation for working there and so they became stranded with the rest of the guests when downtown went under water. Nancy recalled that they did not get evacuated because it wasn’t considered necessary. “We felt safe the whole time that we were there,” she said. Since the power was out, all the food in the big refrigerators and freezers in the hotel had to be cooked. Fortunately, there were gas burners in the kitchen so that could be done, and it gave guests and staff fresh food to eat on top of the supply of C-rations that were delivered to the hotel by boat. They spent a lot of time playing cards, hanging out in the lobby, and conversing with the guests because there was nothing else to do.

View down Gray Street toward the Mark Twain Hotel as the flood raged

Among the guests stranded at the Mark Twain Hotel was an Eastern League baseball team, Three Rivers, that had been schedules to play against the Elmira Pioneers on Saturday, June 23. (An amusing side-note: the game appeared with other Easter League scores in the newspaper as “Three Rivers at Elmira, rain.” Dunn Field was actually under water.) When the flood waters washed through Bern Furniture, which was across Main Street from the Hotel, the players and umpires grabbed furniture as it floated by and pulled it into the hotel to save it. One table still had a plastic floral arrangement on it as it rode the current across the street. After the waters receded, the team had to wait for a tow truck to come and pull their bus out of the three feet of mud into which it had sunk while parked beside the hotel.

Others, who weren’t already guests at the hotel, went to it to take refuge from the rising waters. 25-year-old Richard Wein of Williamsport, Pennsylvania checked into the hotel with his wife and two young children after a harrowing experience. While fleeing from their home, their car got caught in flood waters. Richard was able to get his family onto higher ground but had to abandon their car. They hitchhiked to Elmira where they found shelter at the Mark Twain Hotel.

Edward M. McNulty and his wife Edna check into the hotel at 3:30am on June 23 to escape the impending flood.  Just two and a half hours later, Edward suffered a heart attack and died in their room. Edward was a well-respected man in the community and served as executive director of the Chemung County Council of Alcoholism. He was 62 years old. At 8:00am that same morning, the dikes overtopped, and the hotel was surrounded by raging waters. Everyone became trapped inside, including Edna and her dearly departed husband. It was not until the next day when the flood waters receded that they were able to leave.  

All those who had been holed up at the Mark Twain Hotel during the flood were sent on their way as soon as possible. Even those who had been living and working there like Roseanne and Nancy were forced to leave as the devastated city went into lockdown and a curfew was put in place. Cleaning and repairs to the hotel began almost immediately as the building was to continue serving as a refuge for those affected by the flood. The Federal Housing and Urban Development Agency (HUD) leased the second and third floors of the hotel to be used as homes for displaced flood victims over the age of 60. The senior housing officially opened just one month after the flood on July 24, 1972.

Mark Twain Hotel, 1974

The Second Flood of 1972

by Rachel Dworkin, archivist

June 22^nd marked the 45^th anniversary of the Flood of 1972. Caused by heavy rains courtest of Hurricane Agnes, the flood of June 22-23, 1972 was the worst disaster in the recorded history of Chemung County. It caused an estimated $291.2 million worth of propety damage and forced approximately 15,000 Elmirans from their homes. The waters had barely receded before the city was hit by a second flood, this one of people. 

Downtown Elmira at the height of the flood, June 23, 1972

Some of the visitors where here to help. Trucks from Utica came down with bottles of clean, pasteurized water courtesy of that city’s breweries. Over 1,000 Red Cross workers helped to coordinate supplies for the displaced and assist with the clean-up. Volunteers with Operation Rebuild made repairs to people’s homes. On June 30, Vice-President Spiro Agnew toured the Twin Tiers to survey the damage and promise federal assistance. Elmira could not have recovered as quickly as it did without the invaluable help all of them provided.

Vice-President Spiro Agnew's visit, June 30, 1972. He's from the government and he's here to help.

Other visitors were less benign. Looting was a huge problem. The flood had left many homes and businesses unguarded. Within four days of the flood, 13 people were arrested for looting, charged with stealing everything from electronics from stores to personal items from people’s homes and even the rug from Silver Dollar Cleaners. The National Guard was called in to protect the downtown from further theft. They formed a perimeter around the area, only letting in store owners who had a special pass to be there. With no authority to arrest people, or even a place to put them if they did, the Guard resorted to simply confiscating stolen merchandise and escorting looters outside the protected zone. 

National Guard on Water Street

Elmira Mayor Richard Loll talks with Guardsmen on Water Street.

 

Guardsmen on Lake Street Bridge. As one of Elmira's two surviving bridges, Lake Street was used for emergency and official vehicles only. All civilian traffic had to use the Madison Avenue Bridge.

Sight-seers and disaster tourists also posed a problem. Two of the city’s four bridges were down and, with portions of the downtown being blocked by the National Guard, traffic was a nightmare. The influx of outsiders coming to take pictures and gawk at the devastation only made it that much worse. They also caused problems driving through residential areas. The flood had left the roads coated in mud and, as it dried, every car which drove by kicked up clouds of dust. Some homeowners put up roadblocks on their streets to keep out the tourists so they could salvage their homes in peace.  

Sign at the corner of West Water Street and Demerest Parkway.

 

Sign at the corner of West Water Street and Sunnyside Drive.

Salvaging Your History: Tips for Saving Water-Damaged Objects at Home

By Erin Doane, Curator

With enough money and resources, nearly anything damaged in a flood can be cleaned and restored.  But no one, not even museums, has unlimited funding.  That doesn’t mean that if your home is flooded that you have to throw everything away that you can’t afford to have professionally treated; nor would you want to.  We collect many things in our lives that have great sentimental and historical value.  Many of these things can be dried and saved by you at home without too much expense.

There are many good resources online for dealing with flood-damaged objects.  Heritage Preservation (HP) has posted tips online and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has consulted with the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works (AIC) and the National Institute for the Conservation of Cultural Property (NIC) for recommendations on water-damaged belongings.  My personal favorite resources come in the form of Conserve O Grams created by the National Park Service that offer advice on how to treat specific types of objects by material.

The following basic information is a combination of expert advice from these sources, some personal knowledge and a dose of common sense.  Every item is different so these general guidelines may not work for everything.  Thoughtful consideration should be done before treatment so more damage is not done to the object.

Furniture

You should try to dry out solid wood furniture within 24 hours.  Any longer and mold growth will begin and make it harder to save the piece.  Remove all the drawers and open up the doors of the piece of furniture.  Blot the water from all surfaces with clean cotton cloths or paper towels.  Do not rub because flood waters can contain dirt and mud that will scratch the surface. Allow the furniture to slowly air-dry indoors.  Rapid drying can cause warping and cracking. Remove moisture from the room with fans but don’t point fan airflow directly at the furniture.

It may be possible to salvage some upholstered furniture but a professional should be hired for the task.  Mold growth is hard to stop and contaminants are nearly impossible to eliminate at home so it is better to leave the care of your antique Belter armchair to a professional. 

Clothing and Textiles

Most personal textiles are everyday clothing and bedding that can simply be machine washed and dried if you decide to salvage them.  For heirloom items, though, like great Aunt Sara’s quilt or grandma’s wedding gown, careful treatment is needed.  Wet textiles can be very fragile and heavy so be cautious when moving them.  They should be dried within 48 hours, especially during warmer weather to prevent mold growth.  Anything that cannot be treated in that time frame can be frozen then thawed later in small batches when you have time to dry them.  Items with dyes that won’t run should be rinsed as soon as possible then laid flat to air-dry indoors.  Do not wring or twist the items.  Blot them with clean, lint free towels and keep the air circulating to help them dry.  Leather items should be treated within 24 hours.  They can be air-dried but require special care to keep them flexible so it is best to seek professional help.

Kitchen Wares

Most of our kitchens are filled with glass and ceramic cups and dishes, metal pots and pans and flatware and other utensils made of metal and plastic that can all be simply washed clean and left to air-dry.  Kitchen gadgets like blenders and coffee makers, once soaked in flood waters are usually not salvageable.

Electronics

Most electronics cannot survive a flood.  Unless it’s your great grandfather’s radio that he used at the Battle of the Bulge, let it go.

Other Decorative Items Around the House

Air-drying as soon as possible is recommended for most items you find on the shelves and tables  around the house.  Things like wicker baskets or items with shell or bone should be treated within 24 hours.  They should be wrapped in absorbent towels and air-dried with fans pushing the moist air out of the room.  Baskets, especially, should be handled with care because they will be very fragile.  On the other hand, ceramic statuary, other high-fired ceramics, and glass items are fairly stable even when soaking wet so they can be dried after more fragile items.  Terracotta items, however, are very fragile when wet and should be treated quickly and with care.  Bronze trophies, brass plaques, and the like can usually wait up to 48 hours to be dried unless they are corroded.  The longer they are wet the worse the corrosion will get.  If the item is mounted on wood, it should be dried sooner.  As with most other items, blot with absorbent towels and air-dry.

Photographs, Books and Documents

Paper-based items are a whole different subject.  Check out "Drowning Memories" by our archivist Rachel Dworkin for tips on how to treat those items.

Every object is different and will need to be considered individually but these tips and other available guidelines should help you salvage a family heirloom or two in case disaster strikes and you don’t have the resources for professional treatment.