As you look out into rainy Ohio weather this spring and wonder if your students will ever return to outdoor recess again, you’re joining centuries of Ohioans in reflecting with consternation on our state’s ability to dump buckets of rain. Though we may lament our flooded roadways and soggy shoes, the rainy days of the twenty-first century don’t compare to the historic flood that barreled through the state 113 years ago.

An Unparalleled Natural Disaster in Ohio History

On Sunday, March 23^rd, 1913, a low-pressure weather system moved out of the Rockies and into the Ohio Valley, bringing heavy rains. But unlike past storms, the weather system didn’t blow on by. Instead, another storm system moved in from the south, stalling both storms over southern Indiana & Central Ohio for over 48 hours, literally flooding the states with a deluge of rainfall. By the time the storms ended on March 27^th, between 6 and 11 inches of rain had fallen over Ohio, Indiana, northwest Pennsylvania, and western Kentucky.

On the heels of a snow melt, the saturated ground absorbed little of the March rainfall as rivers across the state overflowed. Unable to withstand the floodwaters, levees and dams burst, bringing massive waves of water into surrounding cities and towns. Downtown Dayton was under an average of 10 feet of water, even reaching 20 feet in some places.

Dayton Picture

Central and Southern Ohio were hard hit, seeing millions of dollars in property damage equating to billions in today’s money, devastating breakdowns in infrastructure and the tragic loss of hundreds of lives. Communities came together across the state in the aftermath of the flood, providing emergency services and working to build the infrastructure needed to prevent future floods.

Teaching the Great Flood of 1913

Wondering how this piece of Ohio history can fit into your classroom and learning standards? We’ve got you covered with this adaptable primary source analysis activity.

Learning Standards

• SS.3.2 , SS.3.6, SS.3.10, SS.3.11, SS.3.12, SS.3.13
• SS.4.2, SS.4.12, SS.4.15, SS.4.16
• SS.5.7
• SS.8.20
• AMH.3, AMH.30
• MWH3
• CWI.11, CWI12,
• WG.7, WG.13, W.G16

Basic Activity Outline:

1. Using the Great Flood of 1913 Source Collection, select grade-level-appropriate sources for students to view.
2. As a class, in small groups, or as independent work (depending on grade level and classroom needs), students should observe, analyze and interpret the selected sources.
3. Once students have familiarized themselves with the sources, they should answer the following questions, adapted as needed for your classroom:
   • How did the Great Flood impact people’s day-to-day lives?
   • How did the Great Flood affect businesses?
   • What impact did the Great Flood have on transportation and trade routes?
   • What was the monetary impact of the Great Flood of 1913?
   • How would you explain the impact of this flood to someone else?

For elementary and middle school students, we recommend completing the activity as a class or with additional support in groups. Elementary classrooms should focus on primary source images (Sources C and/or F), while middle school classrooms may wish to include one or two written primary sources in addition to photos (we recommend Sources B, C, E and F).

For older students, this activity can be completed in groups or as an independent assignment. Depending on your students’ learning level, you may wish to give them access to the full source set or advise them to focus on a few of the sources. For a pared-down-but-still-impactful source set, we recommend Sources A, B, and C.

Extension Activity

Dayton was particularly hard-hit by the Great Flood of 1913. Yet the community came together quickly to address needs during the flooding as well as in the aftermath. Thanks in large part to the efforts of the Dayton Flood Prevention Committee, new flood measures were implemented not only in Dayton, but across the state as part of the new rights and rules enacted by the Conservancy Act.

As a small group or independent research project, students should investigate the history of the Ohio Conservancy Act, paying attention to the Act’s reception across the state. As grade-level-appropriate, students may conduct primary and secondary source research into the Conservancy Act’s reception, impact and implementation across the state.

Blog Image Citation:

Left: “Flood waters swirl along Fourth Street in Dayton, 3 horses are almost withers-deep.” Photograph. Dayton, 1913. Dayton Daily News. https://cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/coxohio/SM2VENKTPZ7LBOB2O3HVXGV22U.jpg (Accessed July 2, 2025).

Middle: “Boatload of flood sufferers brought to the waters edge on Main Street just north of Apple Street.” Photograph. Dayton, 1913. Dayton Daily News. https://cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/coxohio/SM2VENKTPZ7LBOB2O3HVXGV22U.jpg (Accessed July 2, 2025).

Right: “Dayton Homes Damaged by the 1913 Flood Photographs.” Photograph. Dayton: March, 1913. Audiovisual material. https://ohiomemory.org/digital/collection/p267401coll36/id/5293/rec/175 (accessed Feb. 4, 2025).