Dayton is a city in Montgomery and Greene counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census,the city proper had a population of 137,644,making it the sixth-most populous city in Ohio. It anchors the state's fourth-largest metropolitan area,the Dayton metropolitan area,which had 814,049 residents. Dayton is located within Ohio's Miami Valley region,50 miles (80 km) north of Cincinnati and 60 miles (97 km) west of Columbus. It is the seat of Montgomery County.
Hamilton is a city in and the county seat of Butler County,Ohio,United States. Located 20 miles (32 km) north of Cincinnati,Hamilton is the second-largest city in the Greater Cincinnati area and the tenth-largest city in Ohio. The population was 63,399 at the 2020 census. Most of the city is served by the Hamilton City School District.
Piqua is a city in Miami County,Ohio,United States,along the Great Miami River. The population was 20,354 at the 2020 census. Located 27 miles (43 km) north of Dayton,it is part of the Dayton metropolitan area.
The Great Miami River is a tributary of the Ohio River,approximately 160 miles (260 km) long,in southwestern Ohio and Indiana in the United States. The Great Miami originates at the man-made Indian Lake and flows south through the cities of Sidney,Piqua,Troy,Dayton,Middletown and Hamilton.
The Stillwater River is a 69.3-mile-long (111.5 km) tributary of the Great Miami River in western Ohio in the United States. Via the Great Miami and Ohio rivers,it is part of the Mississippi River watershed.
The Miami and Erie Canal was a 274-mile (441 km) canal that ran from Cincinnati to Toledo,Ohio,creating a water route between the Ohio River and Lake Erie. Construction on the canal began in 1825 and was completed in 1845 at a cost to the state government of $8 million. At its peak,it included 19 aqueducts,three guard locks,103 canal locks,multiple feeder canals,and a few man-made water reservoirs. The canal climbed 395 feet (120 m) above Lake Erie and 513 feet (156 m) above the Ohio River to reach a topographical peak called the Loramie Summit,which extended 19 miles (31 km) between New Bremen,Ohio to lock 1-S in Lockington,north of Piqua,Ohio. Boats up to 80 feet long were towed along the canal by mules,horses,or oxen walking on a prepared towpath along the bank,at a rate of four to five miles per hour.
The Miami Conservancy District is a river management agency operating in Southwest Ohio to control flooding of the Great Miami River and its tributaries. It was organized in 1915 following the catastrophic Great Dayton Flood of the Great Miami River in March 1913,which hit Dayton,Ohio particularly hard. Designed by Arthur Ernest Morgan,the Miami Conservancy District built levees,straightened the river channel throughout the Miami Valley,and built five dry dams on various tributaries to control flooding. The district and its projects are unusual in that they were funded almost entirely by local tax initiatives,unlike similar projects elsewhere which were funded by the federal government and coordinated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
A dry dam is a dam constructed for the purpose of flood control. Dry dams typically contain no gates or turbines,and are intended to allow the channel to flow freely during normal conditions. During periods of intense rainfall that would otherwise cause floods,the dam holds back the excess water,releasing it downstream at a controlled rate.
The Mad River is a stream located in the west central part of the U.S. state of Ohio. It flows 66 miles (106 km) from Logan County to downtown Dayton,where it meets the Great Miami River. The stream flows southwest from its source near Campbell Hill through West Liberty,along U.S. Route 68 west of Urbana,past Springfield,then along Ohio State Route 4 into Dayton. The stream's confluence with the Great Miami River is in Deeds Park.
John Henry Patterson was an American industrialist and founder of the National Cash Register Company. He was a businessperson and salesperson. He headed relief efforts after the 1913 Dayton flood,and successfully promoted the city manager form of government.
Edward Andrew Deeds was an American engineer,inventor and industrialist prominent in the Dayton,Ohio,area. He was the president of the National Cash Register Company and,together with Charles F. Kettering,founded Dayton Engineering Laboratories Company (Delco),an early innovator in automotive technology. Deeds partnered with Orville Wright in an early airplane manufacturing venture and led the military aircraft production effort in World War I.
McCook Field was an airfield and aviation experimentation station in Dayton,Ohio,United States. It was operated by the Aviation Section,U.S. Signal Corps and its successor the United States Army Air Service from 1917 to 1927. It was named for Alexander McDowell McCook,an American Civil War general and his brothers and cousins,who were collectively known as "The Fighting McCooks".
Floods in the United States are generally caused by excessive rainfall,excessive snowmelt,and dam failure. Below is a list of flood events that were of significant impact to the country during the 20th century,from 1900 through 1999,inclusive.
The Ohio River flood of 1937 took place in late January and February 1937. With damage stretching from Pittsburgh,Pennsylvania,to Cairo,Illinois,385 people died,one million people were left homeless and property losses reached $500 million. Federal and state resources were strained to aid recovery as the disaster occurred during the depths of the Great Depression and a few years after the beginning of the Dust Bowl.
The McPherson Town Historic District of Dayton,Ohio,contains roughly 90 structures north of downtown Dayton,across the Great Miami River.
The Water Street District is a mixed-use development under construction in Downtown Dayton,Ohio.
The Flood Control Act of 1917 is an Act of Congress enacted in response to costly floods in the lower Mississippi Valley,the Northeast,and the Ohio Valley between 1907 and 1913.
Wolf Creek is a 19.8-mile-long (31.9 km) tributary of the Great Miami River in southwestern Ohio in the United States. It rises in western Montgomery County,northwest of Brookville,and flows generally southeast,passing through the center of Trotwood and joining the Great Miami in downtown Dayton.
The Great Flood of 1913 occurred between March 23 and March 26,after major rivers in the central and eastern United States flooded from runoff and several days of heavy rain. Related deaths and damage in the United States were widespread and extensive. While the exact number is not certain,flood-related deaths in Ohio,Indiana,and eleven other states are estimated at approximately 650. The official death toll range for Ohio falls between 422 and 470. Flood-related death estimates in Indiana range from 100 to 200. More than a quarter million people were left homeless. The death toll from the flood of 1913 places it second to the Johnstown Flood of 1889 as one of the deadliest floods in the United States. The flood remains Ohio's largest weather disaster. In the Midwestern United States,damage estimates exceeded a third of a billion dollars. Damage from the Great Dayton Flood at Dayton,Ohio,exceeded $73 million. Indiana's damages were estimated at $25 million. Further south,along the Mississippi River,damages exceeded $200 million. Devastation from the flood of 1913 and later floods along the Mississippi River eventually changed the country's management of its waterways and increased federal support for comprehensive flood prevention and funding for flood control projects. The Ohio Conservancy Act,which was signed by the governor of Ohio in 1914,became a model for other states to follow. The act allowed for the establishment of conservancy districts with the authority to implement flood control projects.
The Great Flood of 1913 severely affected Columbus,Ohio. The area most affected was Franklinton,also known as the Bottoms,for its low elevation near the Scioto River. Among many infrastructure projects,a 7.2-mile floodwall was built from 1993 to 2004 to protect most of Franklinton from flooding.
