A historical overview of the flood is at the bottom of this post. The photo at right is of a house in East Hartford succumbing to the river.
In the coming days I will reprint other news articles about its aftermath. If you have any photos from the flood, please send them to me and I will be happy to post: dermomyotome@gmail.com.
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Terror and Ruin Spread in Lower Valley: Loss is $2,000,000; River Bridge Menaced.
Terror and destruction spread through the lower Connecticut Valley tonight as stricken communities battled the flood in total darkness. Property damage and business losses totaled $2,000,000.
Two thousand persons were homeless in Middletown, Portland, and Cromwell, buildings were being
swept away and the Middletown-Portland highway bridge was threatened as the rising water splashed at its flooring and hurled huge pieces of debris at the 40-years-old structure
Refugees Are Housed.
Refugees were housed in the State Armory, the Salvation Army headquarters, the Swedish Orphanage in Cromwell and in homes and public buildings.
The Connecticut Power Company fought to restore light and power service by emergency connections which may be completed Saturday morning. A handful of men, under Ansel A. Packard, Middletown division manager, lost the battle against the flood just as the town clock struck 1 a.m. today. Every light in the city went out. Factories, schools, Wesleyan University, Middlesex Hospital, Long Land Farm, and other institutions and business houses were crippled as the power station was engulfed in the flood.
Highway Bridge Abandoned
Water poured into the lower sections of the city at a 4-inch an hour rate, isolating several more streets and shutting off roads on the north, east and west. The highway bridge over the river was abandoned by its crew early in the day after the draw span had been opened for the last time to let a fleet of five Coast Guard patrol boats go through to Hartford.
Police under Chief Charles A. Anderson and 150 members of the Civilian Conservation Corps from Camp Filley, Haddam, the American Legion, teh Veterans of Foreign Wars and members of the National Guard in their civilian capacity guarded the city and aided rescue and relief work. Double shifts did 24-hour duty in the Fire Department, fearing that fire might add to the destruction due to the use of old-fashioned oil lamps and candles. Boats were placed at the foot of every street leading to the river to carry hose if fire started in any of the flooded warehouses, homes or gasoline storage plants.
Cromwell Man Dies.
His home and his belongings destroyed, Gustave Melster, 46, of South Street, Cromwell, who was removed to Middlesex Hospital Wednesday as the water rose about his house, died there today.
The Connecticut State Hospital used its own light and power plant, light was restored to Middlesex Hospital, the State Armory, and Wesleyan by an emergency plant donated by Richard J. Coleman, of Coleman Brothers Shows, which has quarters here.
Barn Wrecked against Bridge.
Three feet of water covered the approaches to the highway bridge. At noon a large barn floating down stream struck the bridge and rocked its west span but the heavy steel girders on the bridge demolished the building. A short time later the crew, in charge of William J. Ghent, was ordered to abandon the bridge and waded ashore.
A large part of the northern, eastern, and southern sections of the city is under water. Water backed up on North Main Street, flooding the Portland Silk Company, several automobile agencies, stores and more than 20 homes on Stack Street, Pease Avenue and Grove Street. An automobile agency was flooded when a plate glass window collapsed. The first floor of the Remington-Noiseless Typewriter Company was 3 feet deep in water and freight cars were almost covered.
Two buildings of the Strong & Hale Lumber Company and thousands of feet of lumber were washed from the Portland shore, causing a loss of $150,000. The report spread that John C. Barry, of Portland, one of the owners, was seriously ill from exertion but this was denied.
More Streets Flooded.
In this city, William, Hanover, Sumner, Court, College, Ferry and Green streets were further inundated.Water climbed so rapidly that families who had refused to leave Thursday were forced to vacate. CCC youths and other relief workers, clad in rubber boots, rowed and carried residents from their homes. Boots filled with water were emptied after each trip and donned again. The Middlesex Hospital sent an ambulance by way of East Haddam to bring in a woman ill in Portland.
Dynamite was used to low up the Gildersleeve tobacco sheds on the river bend to prevent them breaking loose and crashing against the highway bridge.
Serious traffic tieups hampered movement in all the communities affected by the flood as residents thronged the business districts to buy food and emergency lighting equipment.
Gas service was supplied by the Connecticut Light & Power Company through pipe lines from Meriden and emergency service for South Farms was provided by a specially constructed main.
Extra telephone operators from New Haven and former employees were drafted by the local exchange. More than 40 worked long hours without relief.
Relief Stations Set Up.
A relief station was set up at the Hitchcock Pharmacy in Crowell, where 75 families on River Road, South and Wall Streets were driven out. The Gillette home on River Road was torn loose and floated under the highway and railroad bridges without striking. Water covered streets near the center of Cromwell but the high hill there prevented it from rising far.
The Middletown Press was published from the plan [sic] of the Meriden Record Friday.
In Essex, the tide was bringing highwater in with it after receded temporarily. During ebbing water, workers at various boathouses along the river managed to complete means to save stored yachts and boats valued at more than $1,000,000 which are owned by New York and Connecticut wachtsmen [sic].
In Chester, stores, a few homes closed to the river and the highway were flooded making it impossible to go any farther north than the town for motorists and trucks coming up from the sound.
An assistant to the supervisor of Lyme and Saybrook and is 3 miles the long steel bridge that connects above the mouth of the river said over the telephone that the water at that point was about 2 feet above normal high and dead low water, but except for the river being unusually swift and muddy and filled with debris, there was hardly any indication of a flood.
He said he saw loads of lumber floating beneath him among other materials and it was virtually impossible to go up the river.
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The Connecticut crested at 28.20 ft on March 21, 1936. In comparison, it is currently at 6.9 ft.
From Connecticut History Online:
On March 12, 1936, rain began falling across Connecticut, as well as all of New England, and poured down for the next nine days. Fourteen inches of rain, coupled with melting snows from the area's mountains, unleashed on Connecticut the greatest floods in its history to that date. The Connecticut and Farmington Rivers and all of their tributaries became raging torrents. Water and ice flows tore out bridges, highways, roads, and railways. The dam at New Hartford burst, and homes and buildings were washed away or destroyed. The waters at Hartford rose to a level of 8.6 feet higher than any previous flood level on record, flooding most of the downtown commercial area. Fourteen thousand people were left homeless, several were dead or missing, and epidemic disease threatened the population. The National Guard was called to action as the ravaging floods paralyzed business, traffic, communication, and home life, as the cities and towns along the rivers became the principal centers of destruction. While loss of life was small, damages exceeded $100 million, making it the costliest New England weather event to that time.
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