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Worst Flood in
History of Attica - 1913 41 Families Had to Evacuate
Homes As Water Crept Perhaps the worst flood in the history of Attica occurred in March of 1913. The Wabash river exceeded the high water mark of the flood of 1875 by about 6 feet; the river at the time reached 27.5 feet. Rains and high winds began over the weekend. From 5 Tuesday evening, March 25, to 5 Wednesday morning the water rose 3 feet 6 inches. Between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Wednesday the rise was 7 inches, almost 2 inches an hour. By Wednesday evening the river was 33.4 feet above the low water stage. Tuesday morning, March 25, the water began to enter the houses in the southwestern part of the city, know as Texas, and some families began to move. By noon that same day a dozen dwellings were surrounded by water. The river kept rising higher into the residence district, and by the evening only 3 or 4 families remained. At noon the next day 41 families had vacated their homes. These families were cared for in other parts of the city. Losses were heavy among the individual families, as many were forced to abandon furniture, carpeting, and other household goods. The water by Wednesday was running over the C & EI railroad bridge and it was no longer regarded safe. The last train over it was a south bound local freight on Tuesday. Twenty or thirty carloads of gravel were required to replace that washed out from under the track. The Wabash Railroad was still running Wednesday between Lafayette and Danville, but no mail was received from Indianapolis so it was supposed that trains were stopped on lines running west from Attica. Telegraph and telephone lines were badly and it was difficult to get information Peru, Indiana, suffered heavy losses from floods. Over 200 persons drowned Tuesday night in the south portion of the city. Heavy rains were general all over Indiana, Ohio, and Illinois. Never before in the history of Indiana had there been such destruction of life and property from high waters.
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