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1936 Flood

Events Button
▶  WHEELING HISTORY  ▶  EVENTS  ▶  FLOODS

▼ 1936 FLOOD

 Date: March 17-19th, 1936  High water mark: 55.5 ft     (19.5 ft over flood stage)

Heavy snow and rain in March 1936 triggered the worst flood in Wheeling’s history. The river crested at a record 55.5 feet on March 19th, and floodwater inundated the Island, much of South and Centre Wheeling, and even the downtown streets as far east as Chapline. The Suspension Bridge and Steel Bridge were closed, and the Market Auditorium was converted to a refuge shelter and makeshift hospital. Utilities were shut down, supplies cut off, and disease threatened. More than 20,000 people were driven from their homes and 16 people lost their lives.

Photographs: 

  ▶ Album of Snapshots by Harry Briese of the 1936 Flood
 ▶ Photograph of the B&O Building
 ▶ Photograph of Union Bus Terminal 
 ▶ Photograph from Webster School
 ▶ Photograph of Wheeling Steel Co. in Benwood

Newspaper Coverage: 

  ▶ News-Register Special Edition Handbill
 ▶ News-Register Flood Supplement

Radio Coverage: 

  ▶ WWVA and the 1936 Wheeling Flood Souvenir

Archiving Wheeling Blog Post: 

  ▶ "The Big One": The Flood of March 1936
(Includes additional photographs from the Archives of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston)

Additional Library Resources:

  ▶ Related items in our collections

Wheeling Floods  |  Events in Wheeling Home  |  Wheeling History Home  |  OCPL Home  

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