1936 Spring Floods

The Winter of 1936 was exceptionally harsh in the northeastern quadrant of the country. Blizzards and unusually large accumulations of ice promised Spring flooding if followed by a quick thaw. By mid-March temperatures warmed dramatically and the Spring run-off of melting snow and ice caused the feared massive flooding. Particularly hard hit were the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers in Virginia and Maryland, the upper Ohio near Pittsburgh, the Allegheny and Susquehanna Rivers in Pennsylvania and the Connecticut, Merrimac and Kennebec Rivers in New England as well as scores of lesser rivers and streams. To this day the March 1936 recorded water flow on the Potomac and Connecticut Rivers stands as an all-time record.

News outlets printed a number of black and white postcards showing the flooding. Pennsylvania, Maryland and Washington, D.C. postcards are credited to the International News Service. New England views sometimes show other publishers and some are numbered. Most are just identified as to location.

Manufacture was by Tichnor Bros. in Boston with some views being issued for multiple locations. Not all locations shown in the gallery may be accurate. Known examples of duplicate locations include the militia guarding a washed out bridge labeled for both Pittsburgh and Johnstown. The bridge is in fact the Franklin Street Bridge in Johnstown. The State Road flooding views show both Wilkes-Barre and New England locations. The absence of the International News Service imprint points to New England and postcards with numbers on the image side are New England locations contrary to what may appear in the caption.