As I crossed over the N.C. Highway 16 bridge at Oxford Dam, the sight of the raging waters coming through the floodgates set me to thinking about floods along the Catawba River. The two major floods of the last century occurred in 1916 and 1940.
The impact of the 1940 flood was greater in the far western part of the state, although our area received much damage. Among the biggest floods recorded in 1916, 1940, 1961, 1964, 1994, most were caused by heavy rains that fell more than two weeks apart, said Ryan Boyles, associate state climatologist and operations coordinator of the State Climate Office in Raleigh.
In July of 1916, two Category 4 hurricanes converged over western North Carolina causing more than three days of downpours and the worst flood in history of the Catawba River. The first storm arrived early in the month from the Gulf of Mexico, with the second storm coming from the Atlantic in mid-July. On July 14, 15 and 16, the heaviest rains ever recorded in the Catawba Valley occurred. The National Weather Bureau recorded 22.22 inches of rainfall in one day at Altapass near Grandfather Mountain. At the time, it was the greatest 24-hour precipitation total ever recorded in the United States.
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The Catawba River overflowed its banks. Because of the complete ground saturation from the earlier rain, it is estimated that 90% of the water resulted from the second hurricane runoff.
The floodwater was nearly twice as deep as that of any previously recorded flood. The Catawba River, which had not been dammed as it is now, made a clean sweep of all railroad and highway bridges which crossed it. All rail, telephone and telegraph connections were severed. Mills along the waterways throughout the Catawba basin were destroyed and many dams were destroyed or damaged.
Hundreds of Alexander County residents visited the banks of the Catawba River during the days following the downpour and watched the wreckage rush by. Over 200 bales of cotton, the property of the Rhodhiss Manufacturing Company, swept by, and scores of haystacks, chicken coops, sheds and a few houses were borne down the current. The debris from riverside buildings, including warehouses, were swept away. Newspapers reported that fishermen were busy in the shallows of the Catawba River as the floodwaters subsided. The recession left hundreds of fish stranded, enabling people to pick them up without difficulty.
All along the river’s courses, the destruction and loss of life was widespread. At least 80 individuals were killed, and bridges, houses, factories, railroad lines, and other man-made structures were destroyed. A contemporary report by the federal government stated that property damage was approximately $22 million. Adjusted for inflation, this total would be over $430 million in today’s dollars.
The Great Flood of 1916 prompted renewed interest in damming the Catawba, both for flood control and to generate power. In 1919, the Bridgewater Hydro Station (creating Lake James) and the Wateree Hydro Station (creating Lake Wateree) were completed. In 1924, the rebuilt and enlarged Lake Wylie dam was completed, and the dam creating Mountain Island Lake (near Charlotte) was completed. In 1925 and 1927, the Lake Rhodhiss and Lake Hickory dams were completed. The largest lake in the basin, (as well as the largest lake in North Carolina) Lake Norman was created by the Cowan’s Ford Dam. Completed in 1963, it was the last major dam to be built on the Catawba River.
The floods of 1940 were comparable to the devastation as the 1916 floods in many parts of the state. The severity of a flooding event is determined by a combination of four components: the river basin terrain, local thunderstorm movement, past soil moisture conditions, and the degree of vegetative clearing. During the mid-20th century, increased development within the river basins of many western North Carolina counties left many communities particularly vulnerable to flash floods. Tragically, the late summer rains of 1940 were stronger than average. In one 24-hour period, rainfall of over 8 inches fell in the Alexander County area.
Near Boone, the ground was saturated from days of wet weather and could no longer absorb the rapidly falling rain. Water cascaded down the mountainsides, swelling streams and rivers. Close by at Shulls Mills, a train (Old Number 9) waded through 2 feet of water and passed Grandfather Mountain, where it looked like the entire mountainside was a giant waterfall. As the train began the climb up into Cranberry Gap, the crew was flagged down and told they were heading into a washout. They reversed direction and began backing toward the Cranberry community. Here they discovered the culvert behind them had failed and another washout had occurred. Consequently, Old Number 9’s final journey ended on a hill between Cranberry and the Gap. Since that day, Boone has never enjoyed regular-scheduled train service.
The floods of 1916 and 1940 left in their wake shattered lives and unimaginable devastation. The memories, though not pleasant, have endured for many generations and have become a permanent part of western North Carolina heritage.