By Sunday, January 15, 1950, the Wabash River flood that had dominated life in Vincennes since the start of the year was reaching a critical stage. Early predictions had called for a 28-foot-high crest at Vincennes. Those predictions were then modified downward as levees upstream broke. Heavy rains over the Wabash Valley on that Sunday, again sent the water level higher, creating a desperate situation.
Members of the national guard, the Vincennes Street Department, ordinary citizens, and Vincennes high school boys were sandbagging. Soldiers from Fort Knox, Kentucky were constructing mud boxes atop the floodwall, the latter expected to withstand a crest of 28 feet. If the wall didn’t hold, major parts of the city would be flooded.
On Tuesday, Jan. 17, Vincennes Mayor William Betz asked for 1,000 volunteers to help sandbag and was met with an overwhelming response. Businesses and factories offered aid by sending employees. The Pomeroy Manufacturing Company, Hamilton Glass, and Blackford Window Glass Company were among the many factories sending workers. Women did their part as well. Indiana Bell Telephone Company girls turned out to hold sandbags as they were filled. Some 2,000 volunteers answered the call that day. That afternoon, Indiana Governor Henry Schricker was in the city. Schricker inspected the riverfront and shook hands with workers.
The following day, Governor Schricker ordered the Jasper National Guard Unit to Vincennes to help fight the flood. Just over one-hundred men arrived that night. Also, that day, meteorologists predicted that the river’s crest would be slightly above 29 feet. Mud boxes on the floodwall had been raised a foot and were then increased by another six inches. A secondary wall of sandbags had reached a length of 600 feet, built where the wall was less substantial.
In total, some 350,000 sandbags were used to hold back the river.
At the same time, the river level was again fluctuating due to levee breaks on the Illinois side.
The crest at Vincennes finally came at 7 a.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 18, when the river level reached 28.60 feet. The wall held and in the coming hours, the river began a rapid drop. By noon on Thursday, it stood at 26.98 feet. That afternoon, the National Guard was placed in charge, and on Friday, 950 troops from Fort Knox left the city.
There was no additional rain forecast and the Wabash continued to fall. By 1 p.m. on Friday, it stood at 26.43 feet.
The situation in Illinois was very different, with major flooding causing untold damage. Businesses across the Lincoln Memorial Bridge were underwater. The town of St. Francisville was completely cut off, as were other Illinois communities.
While the 1950 flood was severe, the Wabash at Vincennes had reached a slightly higher level during the 1943 flood, if only by a few inches. That year, a crest of 28.99 feet was reached on May 23.
Brian Spangle can be reached at brianrspangle60@outlook.com. His latest book, “Hidden History of Vincennes & Knox County,” published in 2020 by The History Press, is available for purchase at the Knox County Public Library and on Amazon.
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