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Shoshone County Flood Control Project records, 1933-1940

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Marsh, Harry Webb, 1886-1964; Shoshone County Flood Control Project
Title
Shoshone County Flood Control Project records
Dates
1933-1940 (inclusive)
Quantity
1 linear feet
Collection Number
Mg 140
Summary
Correspondence, financial accounts, maps, and plans of Idaho Emergency Relief Administration District #5 Administrator Harry Marsh's application for Works Projects Administration funds.
Repository
University of Idaho Library, Special Collections and Archives
Special Collections and Archives
University of Idaho Library
875 Perimeter Drive
MS 2350
Moscow, ID
83844-2350
Telephone: 2088850845
libspec@uidaho.edu
Access Restrictions

Collection is open for research.

Languages
English
Sponsor
Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
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Historical Note

The first serious recorded flooding of the Coeur d'Alene River area occurred in 1894, establishing a lake elevation of 2137.5 feet above sea level; the normal elevation for Coeur d'Alene Lake is 2126.5. On May 18, 1917, spring floods again reached the 1894 level, suspending rail and highway transportation for several days. On December 18 of that same year the flood waters reached the same level, causing thousands of dollars in property damage.

The floods of 1933 were by far the worst. Three days of torrential rains in early June sent the Coeur d'Alene River and its tributaries over their banks. Then on December 21 a sudden thaw accompanied by heavy rains caused landslides and flooding. Coeur d'Alene Lake reached an all time high level of 2139.5 feet above sea level--two feet higher than the record levels of 1894 and 1917. The South Fork of the Coeur d'Alene River and Placer Creek went over their banks inundating the eastern and western sections of Wallace; then on December 22 Nine Mile Creek overflowed its banks, adding to the already extensive destruction. On December 23 the storm stopped, the weather turned cold and by the 26th the rivers were back in their banks, leaving behind nearly one million dollars worth of property damage in Wallace alone. It was estimated that property damage in Shoshone County reached three and a half million dollars. March 27-29, 1934 saw more heavy rains and consequently more flooding. Mullan, Wallace, and Kellogg sustained approximately $100,000 damage in the April 18, 1938 flood.

Harry Marsh, who directed the clean-up operations after the December 1933 flood, was the driving force behind the flood control project which is the subject of this archival group.

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Content Description

The papers of the Shoshone County Flood Control Project are contained in one small file box and are not very extensive. By far the largest percentage of material is the correspondence of Harry Marsh, District #5 administrator of the Idaho Emergency Relief Administration, concerning the application for federal appropriations to finance a flood control project. Other material includes maps showing locations of flood control devices, newspapers from December 1933 and January 1934 with accounts of the flooding in Wallace and Kellogg, and newspaper clippings concerning the flood control project. The photograph file contains many mounted photographs of the 1933 flooding of Wallace and Kellogg.

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Use of the Collection

Preferred Citation

[Description of Item], Shoshone County Flood Control Project records, MG 140, Special Collections and Archives, University of Idaho Library, Moscow, Idaho.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

The series and folders in this collection are arranged in alphabetical order, except the Photographs series. This series is contained in box 2, and it's folders are in alphabetical order as well.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Flood Damage
  • Flood control
  • Floods
  • Idaho. Emergency Relief Administration
  • United States. Work Projects Administration

Geographical Names

  • Shoshone County (Idaho)

Finding aid prepared by Judith Nielsen; updated by Sara Szobody in 2022.
1980

CC Attribution
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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