Lorain County Flooding – May 12, 1956

Although it's nothing to feel nostalgic about, Lorain County was the scene of some serious flooding 66 years ago this month. 

The above front page story from the May 12, 1956 Lorain Journal tells the tale.

As Jack LaVriha noted in his article, "A series of heavy thunderstorms during the night left virtually every section of the city and many parts of Lorain County in a flooded condition, caused thousands of dollars in property damage and swelled Black River through Cascade Park in Elyria to 12 feet above normal.

"Beaver Creek, west of Lorain, went over its banks to flood the area, there was five feet of water in the E. 28th Street subway, the E. 36th St. ditch was 12 feet deep at its peak and the southwest section in the Willow Creek area was virtually under water.

"Service Director Wallace J. Chapla described the thunderstorms which hit the city at about 10 p.m. and continued on and off until 2 a.m. as "the worst from the standpoint of flooded conditions in the history of Lorain."

"He said the Lorain Waterworks rain meter registered 1.45 inches of rainfall during the four-hour period of thunderstorms.

"In Elyria, City Parks Commissioner Vern Bell said after an inspection of Black River in Cascade Park that "the 12 feet of water over normal is the highest I've ever seen it – and it's still going up."

"Route 611 in the Moore Rd. area at Avon was under water – a situation which occurs after every heavy rain – while residents in the French Creek district angrily wanted to know when the county commissioners were going to do something about the drainage problems."

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This blog has been, well, flooded with posts about flooding in Lorain County, including the Flood of 1913; flooding in Avon and Avon Lake in March 1952; Black River flooding in Elyria in March 1955; Vermilion River flooding in January 1959; Vermilion River flood threats in January 1970; and the infamous July 4, 1969 storm (including coverage in the Vermilion Photojournal).