It is remarkable that Cleveland has been a lifelong home for many locals, and yet the city guards pieces of its history as if it is meant to be kept secret. So many incredible and terrible things have occurred in the city over the years that the common individual does not know about, from the dissolution of communities to maritime disasters that resulted in regional names you may recognize to this day. And yet, no event changed the entire region quite like this one disastrous flood that swept through the region, and you won’t believe that you’ve never heard of it.

After an intense winter, Clevelanders thought they were in for a beautiful spring and summer. That is, until March 21, 1913...
Lakewood Historical Society/Yesterday's Lakewood Identifier: Floodbelle1.jpg
As ice storms, rain, and tornadoes tore through the state, Clevelanders hunkered down, hoping for safety.
Across five seemingly endless days, roughly a year's worth of rain was dumped on the region.
Cleveland Memory Project/Mansfield Public Library Collection Identifier: P-661
Locals heard reports of places like Dayton being underwater. Locally, the damage may not have been so extensive... that is if we were not next to a huge source of water.
The Cuyahoga overflowed, spilling its contents into the city. Steamships smashed into bridges, power was lost, and locals looked on helplessly.
Walter C. Leedy/ Postcards of Cleveland Identifier: LeedyMixed18h036.jpg
Nearby, another waterway, the man-made Ohio & Erie Canal, flooded as well. Its locks often acted like dams, with many being destroyed by the waters and many others having to be blown up to release their contents. The extensive damage would prove to spell the end of canal life in Northeast Ohio.

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Between March 23 and March 26, 1913, Ohio experienced its worst weather-related disaster.
Cleveland Memory Project/Mansfield Public Library Collection Identifier: P-655
In relation to the disaster, disease soon broke out. Cleveland issued a boil alert, but many areas, including the ill-fated Dayton community, experienced thousands of disease-related hospitalizations.
Hundreds of lives were lost all throughout Ohio, and property damages to the state totaled well over $100 million in 1913 currency.
Chagrin Falls Historical Society /Cleveland Memory Project Identifier: pc63168
That's over $2.5 billion in today's currency.
The storm, modern experts theorize, was comparable to the destruction of Hurricane Katrina, yet it has been largely wiped from public memory...
Cleveland Memory Project/Mansfield Public Library Collection Identifier: P-691
...But the memory of this tragedy carries on in photographs and stories provided by the survivors.
Walter C. Leedy/ Postcards of Cleveland Identifier: LeedyMixed18h066.jpg

Cleveland has an incredible history, but pieces of it seem to be lost to time. Fortunately, the story of our city’s past is well documented in photographs and documents, and though they may still be fairly unknown to most people, those who uncover them still take a moment to remember those whose lives were lost.

For more local history, check out the stories behind these antique photos from Cleveland.

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