Memphis and the Superflood of 1937: High Water Blues

Patrick O'Daniel

ago 2010 · Arcadia Publishing

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The greatest flood in United States history struck the Ohio and Mississippi Valleys in January 1937. Perhaps no single flood in the United States had caused as much damage, displayed as much brutal natural force and displaced as many people. Not even the calamitous flood of 1927, which has eclipsed the '37 flood in terms of historical coverage was as massive. Author and Memphis local Patrick O'Daniel illustrates how this national natural disaster affected Memphis, in particular, and how the politicians of the day, from national figures like FDR to local political bosses like Ed Crump, handled unprecedented infrastructural challenges. Yet beyond politics and policy, O'Daniel tells the story of this historic disaster through the eyes of everyday Memphians, their struggles, care for thousands of desperate refugees and the measures they took to save their city from this devastating flood.

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Patrick W. O'Daniel is a professional librarian in Memphis, Tennessee. He worked for the Memphis Public Library & Information Center for over sixteen years, spending nine years in the History, Social Sciences Department working with archival and genealogical collections. He has a Master's Degree in history from the University of Memphis, a Master's Degree in information sciences from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and he has studied at the Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. Patrick lives in Memphis with his wife, Kathy, and daughter Kelly.