Miamisburg in the Great Flood of 1913

Side A: In late March 1913, a series of three severe rainstorms inundated the already saturated and frozen ground of the Miami Valley, causing one of Ohio’s greatest natural disasters, the Flood of 1913. On March 25, the Great Miami River overflowed its banks at Miamisburg, fed by runoff from Bear and Sycamore creeks. Homes, businesses, and the bridges at Linden Avenue and Sycamore Street were swept away or wrecked by floodwaters reaching as high as eleven feet on Main and First streets. Early reports indicated that six people in the area died. Cleanup and recovery efforts took approximately a year. (Continued on other side) Side B: (Continued from other side) In 1914, the Ohio General Assembly passed the Conservancy Act of Ohio, leading to the establishment of the Miami Conservancy District (MCD) in 1915. To ensure that no flood as devastating happened again, the MCD built and maintains flood control works in the Miami Valley, including the Germantown, Englewood, Lockington, Taylorsville, and Huffman earthen dams. Protections for Miamisburg include levees and walls along the Great Miami River and its tributaries. Riverfront Park, on land inundated by the 1913 flood, is where people enjoy the Great Miami and trust that it will stay its course to the Ohio River.