Did you know that in August of 1915 Madison County received over 6 inches of rain in a little over three hours from a hurricane that had previously struck Galveston, Texas?
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The storm had traveled up the Mississippi River valley striking areas from Louisiana to Minnesota. The resulting flooding throughout was an amazing sight. In Edwardsville, the Cahokia Creek flooded the main line Wabash Railroad depot near Phillipena and Schiller streets (shown here) with over four feet of water and the rails were flooded for several miles both north and south of town.
Cahokia Creek also swept away the Illinois Terminal Bridge leaving rails hanging in the air. One family had to be rescued from their flooded farmhouse. Levees broke in Madison and surrounding counties. Crops were damaged from the heavy rains.
A noted difference from today’s reporting which discourages sightseers; the newspaper in 1915 gave specific directions on where to best see the flooded areas.
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