{"id":814,"date":"2015-03-12T18:56:25","date_gmt":"2015-03-12T18:56:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.archivingwheeling.org\/blog\/?p=814"},"modified":"2021-03-19T10:22:20","modified_gmt":"2021-03-19T14:22:20","slug":"the-big-one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.archivingwheeling.org\/blog\/the-big-one","title":{"rendered":"The Big One"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Flood of March 1936<\/h2>\n
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Heavy snow and rain in March 1936 triggered the worst flood in Wheeling\u2019s history. The river crested at a record 55.2 feet on March 19th, and floodwater inundated the Island, much of South and Centre Wheeling and even the downtown streets as afar east as Chapline. The Suspension Bridge and Steel Bridge were closed, and the Market Auditorium was converted to a refuge shelter and makeshift hospital. Utilities were shut down, supplies cut off, and disease threatened. More than 20,000 people were driven from their homes and 16 people lost their lives.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This interesting gallery of \u00a0photographs of the 1936 flood is from the archival collections of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston.<\/p>\n