Recently a friend of mine made me aware of a new website together dealing with the Floods that occurred in the Midwest in the spring of 1913. This story struck home for me, because my own family was effected by this storm.
Back in 1913 my Great Great Grandfather George Dangler lived along the Blanchard River in Ohio. He was a Civil War veteran and was in his eighties at the time of the flood. Living by himself had not been a problem up until this time. He was reluctant to move into a modern house for the time period so he stuck it out in a log cabin. It was spring time in Northwest Ohio and they were in for a nasty storm. They lived in a rural part of Putnam County. The rain had been going for several days and the river finally crested. It started to invade the log cabin George was living in. As it rained several more days the water became much higher. Several days after the water was starting to go down family members came to see what was going on with poor George. Luckily he had managed to crawl up into the rafters of the cabin. He was found straddling one of the log beams. At eighty years of age it was a big feat. Other than being hungry and cold he would go on to live several more years.
The website shows pictures for the time period shortly after the flood had occurred. The interesting add on to it is the accompanying picture taken off of Google Streetview. This is a fine example of the old meeting with the new. Makes us realize that many of the places we travel today have been struck by history for many years prior to our travels.
www.HistoricNaturalDisasters.com
