1937 Flood

In January, 1937, seventy-five years ago, six to twelve inches of rain fell in Ohio over a ten day period causing wide scale flooding in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana and Illinois. The floods left a million people homeless and communities throughout Kentucky were called upon to help house the refugees.

Special Collections and Archives has several collections that contain information about the floods. Hidden in the Lilly Family Papers is a folder of items that document the refugees that were housed at the First Christian Church. This documentation includes thank-you letters from the families after they returned to their homes and cards for all the men who stayed in the church as well as other memos from the Red Cross relating to the organization of relief efforts.

A scrapbook compiled at the time includes newspaper clippings of various articles about Louisville during and after the flood as well as several photo postcards.

Dr. Henry G. Wells, Director of the Madison County Health Department, worked in Greenup County from January 30 through February 16 aiding in the flood relief effort. His records from that time period are in the archives.