Baden's First 100 YearsPage Fifty-oneworld for water-born tonnage. Some of our citizens of today are connected with its industries, commercial and federal. Capt. Fred Erwin of the Carnegie-Illinois Steel Lines, pilots the "Fairless"; George Urling works on the "Hubbard" of the Campbell Line; Captain Norman "Buck" Jones of the "Richland", and Bill Hood is also "running' the river." The "Gordon C. Green" and the "Washington" are beautiful passenger steamers of today carrying passengers past Baden. Baden's citizens of today will long remember the years of 1935-36. A recorded mean July summer of ninety-four degrees; a winter of zero or lowest temperature of sixteen degrees below on January 23rd; heavy snowfalls which lay on the ground almost continually from December 1st to February 25th, and then the Ice Gorge. Many gorges before, but none to equal this one. The Ohio River had been frozen over many times. Once it was frozen to such an extent that horses pulled large loads of coal and hay across and town people enjoyed skating day after day. In 1936 the river was frozen over from January 26 to February 16. The magnitude of the Gorge attracted people for miles and miles. The river gorged at Beaver, February 16, and went our on the 26th. Major floods of a destructive nature have occurred in this valley for over a hundred years. The "Flood of 1932" was the greatest on record of that day, 36.2 ft. The "Great Flood of 1884" at 36.5 ft. was also a destructive one. Many of us can recall the "March 15th, 1907 Flood" at 38.7 ft., when many rowboats were used in the lake around the grocery store and post office of Mr. Strock. Some of us went to Pittsburgh and did not get home, because the Pennsylvania Railroad tracks were covered at various places. In the spring of 1913 the floods caused $180,000,000 property damage and a loss of hundreds of lives. However, for our community, The "St. Patrick's Day Flood" or the Flood of 1936, was the crowning waters with a recorded stage of 46 feet. No casualties or great loss of property in our town, but we do remember some of the inconveniences. The high water of the last January flood of 1937 did not affect Baden, but our ever readiness to aid the stricken victims of the lower Ohio and Mississippi Valleys through the Red Cross shows that we are ready to help restore the American standard of living in the cities and towns of the Ohio Valley. Nearly 500 lives were lost, a million people driven from their homes and more than $400,000,000 worth of property damaged. The old Davis Island Dam was number one in a series of dams in the Ohio River. The stone for this dam was quartered in the Bryan stone quarry just beyond the Baden Public School. Legionville Dam was number four, near Logstown bar. This dam was abandoned in 1936. Crow Island, opposite Baden, was owned by Mr. George Hill, father of Miss Eliza Hill, one of our special guests. It is now the property of the Jones and Laughlin Steel Company. The lower island is Hog Island. The two streams running through our boroughs are "All Fours Run" and "Tevebaugh Run".
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