Portsmouth Water Works photograph   Save
New Deal
Description: Photograph of the Portsmouth Water Works water pump. The caption reads: "Low-duty pumping station built by WPA workmen at Portsmouth to pump water from the Ohio River into the filtration plant. The Ohio River will have to flow over the top of this tall structure --- up to a stage of 90 feet -- before the pumps will cease to function." Photographed and descriped by the Information Unit WPA in OHIO, Clinton Building, Columbus, Ohio. 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_32_01
Subjects: Floods--Ohio River; Portsmouth (Ohio)--Flood, 1937
Places: Portsmouth (Ohio); Scioto County (Ohio)