Indianapolis' Great Flood of 1913

By Sigur Whitaker
 
Until the recent past flooding, the Flood of 1913 was the worst in Indianapolis history. Here is a brief blurb about it.
 
Easter Sunday, March 23, 1913. The forecast for the day was “fair and warmer.” It had been a wetter-than-usual start to the year. Since January 1, Indianapolis had received 11.22 inches of rain, 2.73 inches more than normal. The day before, the high temperature was 40 degrees, and the low was 20 degrees. On Saturday, a low-pressure system sat over Texas, and there was no indication it would begin moving for at least 36 hours. On Saturday afternoon, the wind started blowing and pushed the weather eastward “at almost [an] unprecedented rate.” The system brought warmth…the temperature rose from 33 degrees Sunday morning to 69 degrees during the afternoon.
 
Rain began falling in Indianapolis on Sunday, with winds up to 46 mph. By 7 a.m. Monday, March 24, the city had received 1.7 inches of rain, and low-lying areas were already flooding. The city’s two major waterways, White River and Fall Creek, flowed from the northeast to the southwest side of town.  At 8 a.m. Monday morning, White River was at 11 feet and rising by about two inches per hour.
 
By Tuesday morning, March 25, 1913, the entire state was being impacted by the flooding. The Indianapolis Star commented, “The flood is regarded [as] particularly dangerous because of the rapidity with which it came and because of the uncertainty of clearing weather and the effect on the already swollen streams of their rising tributaries. White River is raging all along its course, bridges being endangered and levees threatened with destruction by the debris-filled current.” At 3 a.m. Tuesday morning, White River was at 16 feet, 11 inches and rising at four inches per hour. The public might have taken solace that, after inspecting the levees, the police were not concerned about the river breaking through. In Broad Ripple, about 6 miles northeast of downtown, a levee broke shortly before midnight, flooding the area.
 
By 9 a.m., White River was at 19.6 feet, and the river had yet to crest. By Tuesday afternoon, both the White River and Fall Creek threatened low-lying areas of the city. Men worked to save the levees with loads of sand. The railroads fought to save their bridges and railyards. Flooding on West Washington Street, the main east-west thoroughfare, caused the traction company's power plant to shut down at 12 p.m., and the interurbans stopped wherever they were. West of White River, all that remained visible were the roofs of the houses. There was no water pressure throughout Indianapolis.
 
About 3 p.m., a small stream of water started seeping through the White River levee near Washington Street. Men attempted to stop it with bags of sand and bales of straw, held in place by telephone poles. Crews worked to reinforce all the low spots. Shortly after 6 p.m., the water burst through the bottom of the levee, about 400 feet above the Washington Street bridge. A twenty-five-foot wall of water a half mile wide rushed through the opening. On Tuesday night, a twenty-five-foot section of the White River levee at Morris Street broke, flooding West Indianapolis. Three thousand families were left homeless as houses crumpled. On the Northside, about 100 feet of the south bank of Fall Creek between Meridian and Pennsylvania streets was washed away. A span of the Meridian Street bridge, built in 1899 at a cost of $250,000, was washed away. The West Washington Street bridge was also washed away.
 
Shortly before 11 p.m., the Vandalia Railroad bridge, located just south of the Washington Street bridge and carrying train traffic across the White River, fell into the water. To weigh down the bridge, ten coal cars had been placed there.
 
Many residents of West Indianapolis, an area of blue-collar workers, escaped by walking west away from the water, carrying whatever household goods they could.
 
Indianapolis was fortunate that the automobile industry was not concentrated in West Indianapolis. The American Motor Car Company was located about two miles south of downtown on Meridian Street while the National Motor Car Company was located about two miles north on 22nd Avenue. Likewise, the Marion Motor Car Company was located about a mile north of downtown on 15th Street, and the Stutz Motor Car Company was also about a mile north of the town center at 11th and Capitol Avenue.
 
The Marmon factory was one of the businesses impacted. Before the White River levee broke, men worked tirelessly to strengthen it. The floodwaters surrounding the business were estimated to be twenty to thirty feet deep. They saved the completed automobiles by moving them to an unaffected area and moved the chassis to the American factory.
 
During the flooding, the industry responded by putting new cars, test cars, and factory trucks into service to rescue those trapped by the floodwaters and deliver essential supplies and food. Amazingly, the autos could get through the flooded waters where boats couldn’t.
 
In West Indianapolis, men from the American and Marion factories worked to rescue people stranded by the floodwaters below the Oliver Avenue bridge. Others took food supplies. The Marion plant was at the corner of Oliver and River Avenues. Bruce Daniels of the Pathfinder company also rescued people from the Oliver Avenue bridge. Boats filled with women and children landed at the door of the Marion plant. The second floor served as a temporary shelter, even though the plant’s first floor was flooded. Marmon also provided autos in the effort.
 
R. P. Henderson of the Henderson Motor Company carried food supplies in his personal touring car to where they were needed. “Old Bolivar,” the first Henderson touring car built, served as a factory pickup truck. During the flood, it was one of the first trucks placed in service. The Cole factory on East Washington Street provided many cars to the relief effort. The National factory, owned by Arthur Newby, placed six cars in service. Even Marmon, which experienced significant flooding, provided vehicles to the rescue effort.
 
After four days, the floodwaters finally began to recede. Slowly, life returned to normal. Total estimated rainfall was 7.75 inches. Floodwater was estimated to be 15 feet deep in a six-square-mile area of West Indianapolis. When the waters receded, an estimated 4,000 homes were destroyed or damaged. Amazingly, officially, only five people died during the flooding.
 
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