Ohio River at Cincinnati and Covington - 1884 Flood

Flood of 1884 wreaked havoc

Snowfall spawned

destructive cycle.

The snow that began falling in December 1883 didn't set any records, but it started a cycle of events that caused severe flooding and destruction in Northern Kentucky.

On Christmas Eve 1883, a Kentucky State Journal account said rain and melting snow had turned streets into quagmires. Gutters were clogged and 8 inches or more of water covered many street intersections. The account said the slush was "too thick to runoff and yet not thick enough to bear a cat."

Walker's Market at Madison and Sixth streets in Covington built a bridge of small dry goods boxes in front of its store to keep customers above the water. However, they stepped off the temporary boardwalk into deep slush.

The newspaper said most took the inconvenience in stride. One man offered a dollar for a pair of stilts. Another joked of starting a ferry business across a street intersection.

Rapidly melting snow and constant rain eventually caused the Licking River to rise more than a foot an hour and to flood briefly on Christmas Day. The rushing waters caught veteran rivermen by surprise. More than 70 coal barges, floats, work boats, and shanty boats were swept from their moorings before the river receded.

Meanwhile, the rain and snow continued, but the Ohio and Licking rivers stayed within their banks. Flood stage at the time was 45 feet. Some believed a major flood was unlikely because Northern Kentucky suffered major flooding only periodically, and in the previous year - February 1883 - the Ohio River had crested at 66.3.

They were wrong.

About midnight on Feb. 5, 1884, the Licking began flooding, and by 10 a.m. 3 feet of water filled the intersection of Isabella and Southgate streets in Newport. At the small community of Boston in Pendleton County, the Licking rose 12 feet in one day. A reporter wrote that people along the Ohio and Licking rivers had scrambled to higher ground, hoping the rivers wouldn't reach the 1883 level.

By Feb. 6 the muddy Covington and Newport streets were clogged further by furniture wagons and carts. The body of a 24-year old Newport woman was found in a flooded house on Chestnut Street. The woman had been ill, but officials felt the stress from the flooding contributed to her death.

Boats of all kinds were brought in to move people and furniture, and cities waived business fees for anyone helping evacuate flood victims.

Newport officials said 1,500 houses were flooded and more than 5,000 people evacuated. A ramp was constructed from dry ground to the L & N Railroad Bridge to serve as Newport's only above-water link to the north. Ferry boats didn't run because of swift currents, debris, and problems finding safe places to dock.

Schools closed so buildings could house refugees. Volunteers tied down small buildings - such as outhouses - that were in danger of floating away.

Efforts to bring in food from areas such as Alexandria were hampered by impassable roads.

On Feb. 9 the Ohio River topped 63 feet. By this point most river cities were without natural gas. Rescue workers patrolled streets in boats, listening for pleas for help.

Many who lived outside the flood area were affected because many businesses closed and workers went without pay.

An exception was the Dueber Watch Case Co. in Newport. John C. Dueber kept his men busy building temporary facilities to house flood victims. Dueber's wife, meanwhile, opened up the couple's Washington Street home in Newport for needy children. Some 25 children were fed there daily.

For adults, a Newport soup kitchen served 250 gallons of soup, 250 gallons of coffee, and 1,000 loaves of bread every day. Two meals were offered. The only menu difference was pea soup for lunch and bean soup for supper. Dried apples were later added to the menu.

Citizens relief committees were organized in most cities to collect donations. Covington Mayor Robert Athey ordered police to arrest anyone in the flood areas after 10 p.m. unless they could prove they were working on flood-relief efforts.

Dueber convinced an Associated Press writer to broadcast a nationwide appeal for donations. Jewelers in Chicago donated $1,390 and jewelers in New York gave $1,150.

By Feb. 14, 15,000 buildings in Covington, Newport, and Cincinnati were in water, and it still was raining. The Ohio River had reached 67 feet.

Soup kitchens turned people away because they had trouble getting supplies and their kitchens weren't large enough to cook the food needed.

The price of coal went up because the flood restricted barge traffic and people horded coal for heating. They also expected to need coal for fires to help dry out flooded buildings.

Some buildings were beyond repair. Link's rope-making business in Dayton was swept away on Feb. 13.

A Feb. 14 Kentucky State Journal editorial said the stream of needy was long and getting longer and local people needed to swallow their pride and seek more out-of-town help. The writer said thousands of homeless were crying out and there wasn't a beggar among them.

Accounts carried lists of buildings that floated away. Twenty-five houses were spotted on Feb. 13. Buildings once thought safe from the flood and used for storing furniture were now flooded.

Meanwhile, the main Newport soup kitchen had seven stoves in constant use.

The communities of East Maysville and Chester, near Maysville, were almost completely under water, and about half of Aberdeen, Ohio - across the Ohio River from Maysville - was flooded.

The river finally crested at 1 p.m. Feb. 14 at 71.1 feet.

A Kentucky State Journal account on Feb. 19 said relief efforts were just beginning. The newspaper said it would be months before most people were back in their homes. Furniture, beds, and clothing were needed. Food and jobs also would be in demand.

Some neighboring communities helped. An account on Feb. 20 said Petersburg was virtually the only town along the Ohio River without any damage, so residents opened their doors to those across the river in Lawrenceburg and Aurora, Ind., where damage was extensive.

Rabbit Hash was not so lucky. Damage was extensive, and the community was cut off from most of the outside world during the flood.

Most Northern Kentucky cities were out of flood trouble by Feb. 23, and most natural gas service was restored. But lots of mud was left behind. An account that day said the mud on Newport's Front Street ranged in depth from 15 inches to 3 feet.

One of the more unusual problems created by the flood was a pond left in Newport after the flood waters receded. The pond stretched from Ninth Street to Keturah Street and was about 10 feet deep in places. How they got rid of the pond in not clear, but someone did suggest that the pond was the responsibility of the Citizens Relief Committee. A member of the group pledged to never again get involved in relief work, saying that there were "no thanks and many complaints."

Five months after the flood, relief committees were still coordinating assistance.

The flood crest of 71.1 feet made the 1884 flood one of the only two to top the 70-foot level. The other flood was in 1937 when the Ohio River officially reached 79.99 feet.

The study of Northern Kentucky history is an avocation of staff writer Jim Reis, who covers the suburban cities for The Kentucky Post.