1915 Erie, PA Flood

One of the worst days in Erie’s history occurred on August 3, 1915 when severe flooding cut a swath through the heart of the city causing an estimated $3,000,000 in damages. Thunderstorms dumped over five inches of rain in a six hour period causing Mill Creek to flood its banks. Normally a meandering quiet stream draining the downtown area enroute to Lake Erie, the stream quickly jumped its banks sweeping away buildings, vegetation and general debris. Soon clogged at the 26th Street culvert, the debris caused an artificial lake to form. Day long efforts to unplug the debris dam failed until Mother Nature took things into her own hands. In the early evening hours, the mounting pressure finally caused the culvert to collapse releasing the debris pile and allowing all of the backed up water to now race forward scouring everything in its path. The resulting path of destruction measured three blocks wide and over three miles long. Over 500 private homes and commercial businesses were either severely damaged or completely destroyed and 36 residents lost their lives.

The flood and its damages is well documented on postcards. Postcards were available for sale in approximately 10 days with my earliest known use being August 14. Since postcards are not numbered, data base is in alphabetical order by caption with lettering identified as being either in red ink or black ink.