Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
A photographer who climbed up onto the elevated tracks leading to the New York Central
Railroad bridge across the Ohio River took this striking view of Point Pleasant's flooded
Main Street between Sixth and Seventh Streets. Note the people standing on the roof of their
front porch. At their feet is a ladder that extends down from the roof to a waiting boat tied
below. (Courtesy Point Pleasant River Museum.)
Here is a look at a stretch of flooded houses at Twelfth and Viand Streets. Many other, less
substantial houses were ripped loose from their foundations and literally floated away. The
official 1937 flood damage estimate for Point Pleasant was $100,000, but the actual figure
was likely many times that. Some businesses were able to get federal loans for flood repairs,
but homeowners were left to fend for themselves. (Courtesy Point Pleasant River Museum.)
A man rows through the 1937 floodwaters at Twelfth and Viand Streets in a scene that was
all too familiar for Point Pleasant residents. The 1937 flood, the town's worst ever, promp-
ted calls for construction of a floodwall. But it was not until after World War II and more
damaging floods in 1943 and 1945 that the federal government complied. The completed
wall was turned over to the city in 1951. (Courtesy Point Pleasant River Museum.)
