On this day in WNC history: In 1916, the worst flood in WNC history ravaged the region, sweeping away people and buildings, isolating communities, and changing the courses of rivers. At least twenty-five were killed. WNC is no stranger to flooding. Before the area’s industrialization, these events were not always entirely destructive. Native Americans and settlers learned to depend on these seasonal alluvial floods (“freshets”) that deposited rich silt along river bottom crop-land. The flood of 1916 would prove to be different. On July 8, rain began falling as a tropical storm from the Gulf Coast dumped between three to five inches of rain. The French Broad River rose to eight feet above normal on the 11th before receding. Residents had no idea of the other storm heading their way from the Atlantic. On July 15, rain began falling again on the already saturated mountains as another storm moved inland. Fourteen inches of rain fell in Brevard and twelve in Hendersonville within twenty-four hours. Unable to hold more water, the French Broad swelled. By 9am on the 16th, the river had risen to over eighteen feet and an hour later, the gauge washed away. The French Broad hit an estimated twenty-four feet while the Swannanoa River likewise crested at over twenty feet. The writhing waters spread almost a mile-wide in Asheville. Six Ashevillians died, while eight in the Hickory Nut Gorge region perished. Reports circulated that Chimney Rock Village had virtually been washed away by the racing mass of boulders and water. In the Hickory Nut Gorge, the Broad River had changed course in several places and carved banks 75-feet-high. Over 1,000 incarcerated laborers and free citizens were pressed into service repairing roads and railways across the region and, by July 19th, a train was able to enter Asheville. By late August though, some sections of the region were still only accessible by foot or horse, including an entire mile between Bat Cave and Gerton. (Images: Flood along French Broad River, courtesy Buncombe County Special Collections; Asheville Citizen, Jul 19, 1916) #OnThisDay #WNCHistory #FloodOf1916 #Asheville #History https://www.instagram.com/p/CRY4U2LBUbC/?utm_medium=tumblr
