This Month
in St. Louis History
The
Flood of 1993 started in April
The record flood
in St. Louis officially began on April 1, 1993. For 144 consecutive
days, the Mississippi River was above flood stage. That's
from April 1 through Sept. 30, that year.
Both the Mississippi
and Missouri river drainage areas were involved. Of course,
that makes St. Louis a focal point of the flood because the
rivers join here.
Over 17,000 square
miles of land in the Midwest were under flood waters
at sometime during that flood. That includes all or parts
of nine states. Besides Missouri, the states affected were
North and South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, Wisconsin,
Minnesota and Illinois.
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Editor's
note: Information for This Month in St. Louis
History is provided monthly by the Missouri History Museum
in Forest Park.
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When all the figures
were in, the 1993 flood the most devastating flood in U.S.
history.
The flood affected
people and events all over the St. Louis area.
As early as April
17, residents in Grafton on the Mississippi were forced from
their homes. By April 22, Illinois Gov. Jim Edgar declared
Grafton a disaster area.
Six days later,
Missouri Gov. Mel Carnahan declared a state of emergency in
St. Charles.
Later, levees
all over the area began to break, flooding more land. And
the levees that gave way weren't just in rural areas.
The Missouri River
levee that guarded the Chesterfield Bottoms area gave way,
putting that commercial area under nine feet of water. That
break also forced closing of the Lewis and Clark bridges (Highways
40 and 64).
In the summer,
four boys and two adult counselors were drowned in a flash
flood in Cliff Cave Park in south St. Louis County.
By Aug. 1, the
Mississippi River topped out at 49.58 feet in St. Louis. That
was more than six feet higher than the previous record.
As bad as things
were in and around St. Louis, other areas of the Midwest were
hit harder. For instance, Des Moines, Iowa, lost its entire
water supply when its treatment plant was flooded. More than
250,000 people lost their drinking water for 19 days at the
peak of the summer heat.
Nearly 50 people
died as a result of the flooding. Over 56,000 homes were damaged.
Estimated damage
just to roads was put at $500 million.
If you want to
read more about the Flood of 1993, you can visit a couple
websites:
For the STLToday
site, see www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/special/flood93.nsf/front.
Also, the University
of Akron did a comprehensive report on the flood and you can
access that at http://lists.uakron.edu/geology/natscigeo/lectures/streams/miss_flood.htm
Haunted
Caves of St. Louis
April, 1950, was
an anniversary of the opening to the public of Cherokee Cave.
The cave near the DeMenil Mansion in St. Louis had a reputation
of being haunted.
The
cave stayed open until 1960. Then, the land was purchased
by the Missouri Highway Department when it was clearing land
for construction of Interstate 55. When the highway was built,
the entrance to the cave was buried.
But, author Troy
Taylor has included a chapter on "The Lost Caves of St.
Louis" in his book, "Haunted St. Louis: History
and Haunting along the Mississippi." The book was published
in 2002 by Whitechapel Productions Press, Alton, Ill.
The author recounts
what he calls the haunted history of both the Cherokee and
Lemp caves. The Lemp Brewery was one of the St. Louis breweries
that used the naturally-cool caves for aging their beer products.
The history of
caves in St. Louis is a long one. A whole system of underground
caves is below much of St. Louis. Since the bedrock is limestone,
it is susceptible to being dissolved by underground streams.
If you'd like
to know more about caves in St. Louis, there are good websites
to explore:
Ragtime's
Scott Joplin died April 1, 1917
Noted
St. Louis musician Scott Joplin died on April 1, 1917. Although
he was famous for inventing ragtime music, the day of his
death was overshadowed by another news event.
April 1 was the
same day the United States entered World War I.
By the time of
his death, Joplin's ragtime music was losing popularity with
the rise of jazz.
But, St. Louis
remembers Joplin with a star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame
in University City and the Scott Joplin House museum in St.
Louis.
For more, visit
www.geocities.com/BourbonState/Bayou/19694/joplife.html.
From "St.
Louis 365"
1904
World Fair opened in April
On
April 30, 1904, the Louisiana Purchase Exposition (also known
as the 1904 World's Fair) opened. The fair in Forest Park
came on the 100th anniversary of the start of Lewis and Clark
exploration.
Other historical
local happenings in Aprils past included first wedding in
the city in 1766 and the first use of Clydesdale horses to
promote Anheuser-Busch beers in 1933.
These were among
151 historical items listed in the April chapter of "St.
Louis 365." That's a book of historical trivia written
by local historian Joe Sonderman.
(This book
is available in local book stories or at www.booksonstlouis.com.
Sonderman has given Young Saint Louis.com permission
to quote from his book.)
Here are 10 of
the items listed in the April chapter of Sonderman's book:
April 2, 1896:
The city of Webster Groves was incorporated. The town began
as five separate communities along the Pacific Railroad. Webster
Village grew up around Webster College. The other stops along
the line were Tuxedo, Webster Park, Old Orchard and the Frisco
Station. The promoters of the subdivision of Webster Park
touted their development as "The Queen of Suburbs."
The nickname endures to this day.
April 6, 1948:
St. Ann was incorporated as a city. St. Ann was started as
a defense housing project, built by Charles Vatterott. The
first 100 homes in Mary Ridge were opened in 1940. Vatterott
built 638 more on the site of the Stein farm, and dedicated
the development to the Virgin Mary's mother, St. Ann.
April 6, 1993:
Freeman Bosley Jr. was elected mayor of St. Louis, replacing
incumbent Vincent C. Schoemehl Jr., who, after serving as
mayor for 12 years, didn't run for re-election. Bosley became
the first black mayor in St. Louis history, and served until
1997.
April 7, 1933:
The world famous Anheuser-Busch Clydesdales made their debut.
The Clydsdales took one of the first cases of legal Budweiser
down Pennsylvania Avenue to present it to President Franklin
Roosevelt. Today there are six Clydesdale hitches.
April 9, 1963:
Water from the Columbia River in Oregon was mixed with the
first concrete poured into the structure of the Gateway Arch.
The waters were drawn near the site of Fort Clatsop, the western-most
point of the Lewis and Clark Exposition.
April 14, 1912:
The Titanic ocean liner struck an iceberg and sank, taking
over 1,500 lives. Vacationing Post-Dispatch reporter
Carlos Hurd was on board the Carpathia, which rushed to pick
up survivors. The Carpathia's wireless was too swamped to
send the reporter's messages. When the ship docked in New
York, Hurd had the story ready. His work was sent around the
world as the first complete account of the disaster.
April 15, 1998:
Dozens of people were hurt in the largest traffic accident
in Missouri history. At least 98 cars piled into each other
on a rain-slickened stretch of eastbound I-70 west of Highway
79. About 40 people were hurt. Amazingly, there were no fatalities.
April 17,
1945: Red Schoendienst played his first game in a Cardinal
uniform. He would play in 2,216 games. Red's first game was
also the first for Cards broadcaster Harry Caray. He broadcast
Redbird games until 1969. (Schoendienst, who also managed
the Cards, is still with the Redbirds. Caray, who died a few
years ago, went on to Chicago as the Cubs announcer and was
famous for leading fans in singing, "Take Me Out to the
Old Ballgame," during the 7th inning stretch.)
April 20, 1766:
The first wedding in St. Louis took place. Toussain Hunaud,
a Canadian trapper, married Marie Bourjenou, the daughter
of one of St. Louis' first settlers. There was no church in
St. Louis, so the wedding took place in the bride's house.
April 30, 1904:
It was St. Louis' finest hour, as the great Louisiana
Purchase Exposition opened. The fair was held in Forest Park
and its environs. At 1:04 p.m., President Theodore Roosevelt
touched a special telegraph key in Washington and the grounds
came to life. The fair dazzled the world, and touched off
a 10-year building boom in St. Louis. Legend says the hot
dog, ice cream cone and iced tea were all introduced at the
fair. Dr Pepper also made its debut at the fair. Over 12 million
people would visit the fair, about 1/2 of them from the St.
Louis region, before it closed on December 1, 1904.
