Description: Photograph of Works Progress Administration (WPA) workers placing sandbags along the levee. The photo is from the "Portsmouth, Ohio, flood of 1937", SC 381. This collection contains 37 photographic black and white prints, 21 x 26cm or smaller; and 4 postcards in black in white, 9 x 14 cm. Photographs document the flood damage in Portsmouth, including sandbagging, floodwall construction, and WPA rescue efforts. In 1937, southern Ohio faced one of the worst floods in its history, known today as the "Great Flood of 1937." The Ohio River flood of 1937 took place in late January and February. In Cincinnati, the flood was particularly difficult for the city, where flood levels reached its crest of 79.99 feet on Tuesday, January 26, 1937. Communities along the Ohio River in Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois also faced serious problems. Many people lost their homes as a result of the flood. The Ohio River Flood of 1937 caused more than twenty million dollars in damages. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: sc381_01
Subjects: Floods--Ohio River; Portsmouth (Ohio)--Flood, 1937; Levees
Places: Portsmouth (Ohio); Scioto County (Ohio)
 

Description: Original description reads: "Montgomery County, Dayton, Ohio, Jan. 1938. View of levee, north of River and west of Main." After the great flood of 1913, much was done to prevent future flooding of the Miami River. Governor James M. Cox helped to gain passage of the Vonderheide Act, which is also known as the Ohio Conservancy Law, in 1914. The law gave the state the authority to establish watershed districts and to raise funds for improvements through taxes. In 1915, the Miami Conservancy District was created in response to the Vonderheide Act. It became the first major watershed district in the nation, resulting in extensive modifications to the river channel in Dayton. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B09F09_001_1
Subjects: Levees--Ohio--Dayton
Places: Dayton (Ohio); Montgomery County (Ohio)
 

Description: Dated January 30, 1937, this photograph shows a break in the levee at Miami Shores in Dayton, Ohio. 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 the Federal Writers’ Project, one of the primary goals of which was to complete the America Guide series, a series of guidebooks for each state which included state history, art, architecture, music, literature, and points of interest to the major cities and tours throughout the state. Work on the Ohio Guide began in 1935 with the publication of several pamphlets and brochures. The Reorganization Act of 1939 consolidated the Works Progress Administration and other agencies into the Federal Works Administration, and the Federal Writers’ Project became the Federal Writers’ Project in Ohio. The final product was published in 1940 and went through several editions. The Ohio Guide Collection consists of 4,769 photographs collected for use in Ohio Guide and other publications of the Federal Writers’ Project in Ohio from 1935-1939. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B05F09_037_1
Subjects: Geography and Natural Resources; Levees; New Deal, 1933-1939; Federal Writers' Project
Places: Dayton (Ohio); Montgomery County (Ohio)