1937 Ohio River flood in Ironton, Ohio   Save
Ohio Guide Photographs
Description: This photograph shows part of downtown Ironton, Ohio, during the 1937 Ohio River flood, also referred to as the Great Flood. In January and February of 1937, weeks of heavy rainfall caused the Ohio River to flood parts of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Kentucky, causing $500 million in property damages, and displacing and killing hundreds. By the end of January, the Ohio River measured 80 feet deep in Cincinnati, one of the areas most affected. President Franklin D. Roosevelt dispatched thousands of relief workers from the Works Progress Administration to rescue flood victims and restore affected cities. This photograph is one of the many visual materials collected for use in the Ohio Guide. In 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the Works Progress Administration by executive order to create jobs for the large numbers of unemployed laborers, as well as artists, musicians, actors, and writers. The Federal Arts Program, a sector of the Works Progress Administration, included View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B15F04_003_012_015
Subjects: Floods; Natural disasters; Ohio River; Downtowns; Works Progress Administration
Places: Ironton (Ohio); Lawrence County (Ohio)