March 17, 1936
The Catastrophic Event
By March of 1936, the denizens of Western Pennsylvania were eager to put the bleak days of winter behind them. This was especially true since the region had been covered by a thick blanket of snow throughout most of January and February. When the precipitation started to fall as rain, it seemed like a welcome change. On Monday, March 16th, the temperature climbed to well above the fifty degree mark. It wasn't long before the snow and ice along the upper Youghiogheny River began to melt quickly. Local forecasters did in fact predict that there would be some flooding along the river banks. However, the water level increased much faster than anticipated. On March 17th, the city of McKeesport, Pennsylvania experienced the worst flood in its history. The same devastation occurred in the neighboring towns along the Monongahela and Allegheny Rivers. It was recorded that the city of Pittsburgh witnessed flooding that reached a flood stage of twenty-five feet. The shocking news of flood waters rising to the second and third floors of downtown buildings began to circulate around the Tri-State area. This disaster aptly became known as The Great St. Patrick's Day Flood .
Along with the melting snow, a series of overnight thunderstorms caused the waters to continue to rise. By the morning of March 18, the water that had spilled into the streets of Pittsburgh peaked at forty-six feet. The flood waters remained at twenty-one feet above flood stage for five days. Finally, on March 21st, the waters receded. All across the region, people were faced with a long road to recovery.
In the aftermath of the flood, it was estimated that more that sixty lives had been lost and five hundred others were injured. The number of homes and businesses that were destroyed reached into the thousands. Even the mighty steel mills weren't invulnerable to the flooding. Many steel workers found themselves temporarily out of work due to excessive water damage to the machinery that they operated.
The situation in Western Pennsylvania progressively became worse in the days that followed the flood. Resident began to realize that the murky flood waters had contaminated the clean water supply. The fear of waterborne diseases spread rapidly. In addition, certain areas were still dealing with electrical power outages that occurred on March 17. Local radio stations reported that the power company expected to have service fully restored within eight days. Unfortunately, without electricity, many residents were unable to use their radios to listen to the broadcasts. The outages also contributed to a fuel shortage since there was no electricity to power the gasoline pumps. Those not impacted by the fuel shortage dealt with the challenge of navigating their vehicles through the muddy wreckage left in the streets. Similar problems along the rail lines interrupted trolley service and freight delivery schedules. Even the coal barge traffic had been brought to a halt due to the large amount of debris that had been washed out into the rivers. The effects of the flooding could be found everywhere.
As a result of the St. Patrick's Day tragedy, the United States Army Corps of Engineers developed a flood-control system for the region. The design was a combination of nine dams along the Allegheny River, three dams along the Monongahela River, and four dams in the Beaver River drainage. Once the system was operational, it helped to reduce the severity of the flooding that occurred in the years following the 1936 flood. Despite lowering the number of floods, the system's ablity to eliminate the flood threat completely has not yet been achieved.
By March of 1936, the denizens of Western Pennsylvania were eager to put the bleak days of winter behind them. This was especially true since the region had been covered by a thick blanket of snow throughout most of January and February. When the precipitation started to fall as rain, it seemed like a welcome change. On Monday, March 16th, the temperature climbed to well above the fifty degree mark. It wasn't long before the snow and ice along the upper Youghiogheny River began to melt quickly. Local forecasters did in fact predict that there would be some flooding along the river banks. However, the water level increased much faster than anticipated. On March 17th, the city of McKeesport, Pennsylvania experienced the worst flood in its history. The same devastation occurred in the neighboring towns along the Monongahela and Allegheny Rivers. It was recorded that the city of Pittsburgh witnessed flooding that reached a flood stage of twenty-five feet. The shocking news of flood waters rising to the second and third floors of downtown buildings began to circulate around the Tri-State area. This disaster aptly became known as The Great St. Patrick's Day Flood .
Along with the melting snow, a series of overnight thunderstorms caused the waters to continue to rise. By the morning of March 18, the water that had spilled into the streets of Pittsburgh peaked at forty-six feet. The flood waters remained at twenty-one feet above flood stage for five days. Finally, on March 21st, the waters receded. All across the region, people were faced with a long road to recovery.
In the aftermath of the flood, it was estimated that more that sixty lives had been lost and five hundred others were injured. The number of homes and businesses that were destroyed reached into the thousands. Even the mighty steel mills weren't invulnerable to the flooding. Many steel workers found themselves temporarily out of work due to excessive water damage to the machinery that they operated.
The situation in Western Pennsylvania progressively became worse in the days that followed the flood. Resident began to realize that the murky flood waters had contaminated the clean water supply. The fear of waterborne diseases spread rapidly. In addition, certain areas were still dealing with electrical power outages that occurred on March 17. Local radio stations reported that the power company expected to have service fully restored within eight days. Unfortunately, without electricity, many residents were unable to use their radios to listen to the broadcasts. The outages also contributed to a fuel shortage since there was no electricity to power the gasoline pumps. Those not impacted by the fuel shortage dealt with the challenge of navigating their vehicles through the muddy wreckage left in the streets. Similar problems along the rail lines interrupted trolley service and freight delivery schedules. Even the coal barge traffic had been brought to a halt due to the large amount of debris that had been washed out into the rivers. The effects of the flooding could be found everywhere.
As a result of the St. Patrick's Day tragedy, the United States Army Corps of Engineers developed a flood-control system for the region. The design was a combination of nine dams along the Allegheny River, three dams along the Monongahela River, and four dams in the Beaver River drainage. Once the system was operational, it helped to reduce the severity of the flooding that occurred in the years following the 1936 flood. Despite lowering the number of floods, the system's ablity to eliminate the flood threat completely has not yet been achieved.
Pittsburgh Flood Photographs (1936)
In Dead Man's Hollow...
On March 17th, 1936, the rising waters of the Youghiogheny River began to back-up into drain pipes and the large service tunnel that ran beneath the P&LE railroad line. The end result was flooding in Dead Man's Hollow. In a short period of time, the dirty water had surrounded the remnants of the Union Sewer Pipe Company's kiln ovens, boiler house and blacksmith shop. The families living just beyond the old factory kept nervous watch on the advancing water throughout the day and well into the night. At dawn, the daylight reveal that the flood waters had continued to swirl into hollow along Dead Man's Run. The alarming sight had some residents preparing to flee from the rising water along the road to Liberty Borough. Fortunately for the families living in the hollow, the flood water crested before reaching their homes.
The Great St. Patrick's Day Flood was not the only time that Dead Man's Hollow would be subjected to flooding. Nine years later, the residents of the hollow were confronted by rising waters once again.
On March 17th, 1936, the rising waters of the Youghiogheny River began to back-up into drain pipes and the large service tunnel that ran beneath the P&LE railroad line. The end result was flooding in Dead Man's Hollow. In a short period of time, the dirty water had surrounded the remnants of the Union Sewer Pipe Company's kiln ovens, boiler house and blacksmith shop. The families living just beyond the old factory kept nervous watch on the advancing water throughout the day and well into the night. At dawn, the daylight reveal that the flood waters had continued to swirl into hollow along Dead Man's Run. The alarming sight had some residents preparing to flee from the rising water along the road to Liberty Borough. Fortunately for the families living in the hollow, the flood water crested before reaching their homes.
The Great St. Patrick's Day Flood was not the only time that Dead Man's Hollow would be subjected to flooding. Nine years later, the residents of the hollow were confronted by rising waters once again.
Dead Man's Hollow Flood Photographs (1936/1945)
The Great St. Patrick's Day Flood
The Flood of 1945
The photograghs above were captured during two seperate flooding incidents in Dead Man's Hollow. The first photograph ( top ) was taken from a ridge overlooking the Youghiogheny River just a few day after The Great St. Patrick's Day Flood in 1936. This photograph shows the Union Sewer Pipe Company's kiln oven chimneys 'wading' in the flood waters. The P&LE railroad line ( now the Youghiogheny River Trail ) and the borough of Versailles can be seen just beyond the four brick towers.
The second photograph ( bottom ) was taken during The Flood of 1945. In this photograph, Magdalena Bendzuch comforts her grandson while her daughter, Anna uses a coal shovel as an oar. In the background, the Union Sewer Pipe Company's blacksmith shop, boiler house and two brick chimneys are visible. At the time when this photograph was taken, the blacksmith shop was being used as a Boy Scout Camp.
