Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
FSA photographer Russell Lee's caption for this photograph, taken at Shawneetown,
Illinois, identifies the collapsing brick structure as “the old Catholic seminary after the
flood.” One entire wall has fallen away. Flooding was by no means a new experience for
Shawneetown. Between 1901 and 1937, the town flooded eight times. But the damage from
most of those floods was minor. No one was prepared for the devastation brought by 1937's
high water. (Courtesy the Library of Congress.)
Thousands of men, women, and children who were driven from their homes by the 1937
flood were sheltered in dozens of tent cities the Red Cross established in various locations.
