Madison, Indiana, USA
1937 - January 1937 Flood

Hardly a day went by that January that didn’t bring rain, and lots of it. On the thirteenth of January the river stood at 36.7 feet. Two days later it had risen to 45.7 feet...

Crooked Creek was also flooding and with the swollen Ohio to the south and Crooked Creek to the north Madison became a peninsula, surrounded by water on three sides...

The river crested at Madison on January twenty seventh. The flood stage here was 72.3 feet and the river was over flood stage for 18 days. As the waters receded and the town assessed the damage it was clear that Madison would be forever changed. The businesses along the river were, for the most part, gone or damaged beyond repair. Trow’s Flour Mill, the catsup factory, the old warehouses and many more buildings were never to open their doors again. There would be less employment due to the flood. And the very face of the riverfront would change. Much of Madison’s history was erased from the levee that January in 1937.

www.mjcpl.org/ historyrescue/ timeline/ 1937-flood

Visit Madison, Indiana, USA
Discover the people who lived there, the places they visited and the stories they shared.