July 8, 1935, Reflecting on the Flood of 1935

How do you begin to describe the effects of a flood? Dewitt gave us a view of the damage Hurricane Agnes did in 1972, but what of the floods before then? Two other floods have been recorded in word or photographs within the Interlaken Historical Society collections. A few pictures show the flood of 1902 [see July 20, 1902 Snippet]. More extensive records describe the July 8^, 1935 flood. There are pictures, newspaper articles and an article from the October 2011 issue of the Historical Society newsletter.

My grandmother, Nelle Symonds Bradley, was born in the village of Farmer in 1881 (which became Interlaken in 1904) and lived there all her life. Nelle was a prolific writer of diaries, poems, and letters, many of which I now care for. In the fall of 1935, during one the greatest floods the village had ever experienced, Nelle wrote a letter to her oldest daughter Margaret over a period of a few days. At that time Nelle was a widow living in her home (currently owned by the Hubbard family), which is located on the south side of West Avenue at the bottom of the hill which leads up to the water tower. Her youngest daughter Jean, age 19, was home from Cornell at that time; her middle daughter Eleanor was living and working in Rochester. These excerpts from this letter gives us a picture of what it was like when too much rain fell too fast on the little village and its neighbors.

Nancy Booth DeMarte

Dear Margaret,

   Monday, 5:00 AM -- Jean and I are on the front porch watching a raging torrent of water flow by. It has roared since -- well, the fire whistle woke me at three because DePond's house had washed off the foundation, so I don't know when it began. Yesterday and Saturday there was one heavy thunder shower after another, but this surely was a cloud burst. It looks three feet deep at least on the other side of the street. I was afraid our three cows would be drowned, but when it got light we saw them in the southwest corner eating grass.

   Telephone service has been off and on. I heard it was rushing through Howard Peterson's store. Really, the roar is deafening. It is still raining hard.

    I heard they had to get Stinards out with ropes, but don't know if that was their house or cottage. Babcock's car washed into the lake (Kennebunk), and a team went down to help them. I wonder about our cottage and the farm crops. Surely it would take all the top soil where it flowed over. The pasture gate is washed open and the debris in this NE corner has broken down the fence. A waterfall rushes over the corner.

   We had some men callers in high boots an hour ago (the water was over their high boots). They got our big oil tank and tied it to the railing so it wouldn't tip over. What a mess. Huge chunks of wood, cans, ashes. I had a fire in the little stove.

   Across the street, Wheeler Bassett's front steps are gone. Clint Bassett's chicken house has moved.

   I woke Jean. Lights went out, of course. Railroads must be damaged so I don't know when mail will go. We had some water in the refrigerator which we will treasure as wells will not be good. Jean is in her raincoat and oiled hat and longing to go downtown. It will take loads of gravel to fill in our drive. I wonder how much garden I'll have. Most of all, of course, I hope no one will be drowned or hurt. Jean says it cut Wilson's driveway down to the creek level. Jimmi Bassette tried to drive out when the whistle blew, and he got stopped at this end of Knight Street where his car now stands deep in the river. Guess they tied it to a post so it wouldn't wash away. He left the headlights on for a long time and yelled like mad to warn a car coming down the hill.

   10:00 AM -- Cars do go through now, but I'd hate to try it. I read recently about a downpour in Penn Yan where the topsoil was carried to the lake. I wonder about the farm crops again. There was never anything like this here before. Jean was asking yesterday if we could ever have a flood here. I'd think the new school ground would be washed out…and if they had cement in the cellar. My little flowers in the front yard!

    Wheeler Bassett's big bush by the walk is flat and is catching debris. His pretty lawn is a lake. The house is surrounded. Jean says this is the most exciting spot now unless lower Main Street could be worse. Multiply anything you ever saw by a hundred or two. I thought I'd wash this morning -- guess not. I hope Conesus isn't getting the same. Betty Hewlett was up there for the weekend.

    Central (telephone office) answers now. They said they had to carry Mrs. Wickes and Christine out. We can't get to the cottage, but they say Dr. Gould's new car is under water. Imagine what that lake road must be. It had been in real good shape.

Click here to read the rest of the letter.  Click here for newspaper snippets

 

T. P. Hause home, North Main Street
Interlaken Historical Society photo collection #1481a

Main Street Interlaken, July 8, 1935
Interlaken Historical Society photo collection #2122

  

Dewitt’s Diary Monday, July 8, 1935

The greatest calamity ever in this county happened about three o’clock following terrible rains all night.

All the country side flooded.