Louisville, Jefferson, Kentucky, USA
Events/Places of Interest
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1871 - A CRASH AT LOUISVILLE, KY The Floors of a Grain Warehouse Fall Through to the Cellar - Three Men Killed. Louisville - August 30, 1871 About ten o'clock this morning the fourth floor of Whitney, Brown & Co.'s grain warehouse gave way under the heavy weight, and the large quantity of grain crashed through the floors into the cellar, killing three men, one white and two colored. Two prominent Main street merchants had just stepped out of the building when the crash occurred, and were blown into the street by the concussion, which burst off the doors of the building and shattered the glass in the windows. New York Herald New York, NY 31 Aug 1871 |
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1879 - ALMSHOUSE FIRE. Louisville, Ky. - The Louisville, Ky., Almshouse, located five miles south of the city, was destroyed by fire on the morning of the 31st. There were 340 inmates, a large number of whom were old, crippled and imbecile, and the flames spread so rapidly that many were obliged to jump from the upper windows. Two men were killed by their fall, one perished in the flames, and another was fatally burned, while several others were severely injured in various ways. The building cost $175,000 and was insured for $70,000. Iola Register Kansas February 7, 1879 |
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1881 - Killed By A Boiler Explosion. Disaster In A Louisville Soap Factory-One Man Fatally Hurt And One Seriously. Louisville, Ky., Feb. 22.-A terrific boiler explosion-the third fatal one here this year-occurred to-day. Henry Myer, an old German, has been conducting a soap factory in the eastern part of Louisville for many years. Mr. Myer’s only assistants were his four sons. This morning about 7 o’clock Mr. Myer and his sons went to work as usual, intending to boil up some soap. William, the second son, who has been acting as engineer for the past two months, built a fire in the furnace about 8 o’clock, the neighborhood was startled by a tremendous report. The shed was suddenly demolished, and the boiler flew through the air with fearful force and landed against the house in front. At the time of the explosion old Mr. Myer was busy in the yard. Henry, the eldest son, was engaged at the soap-vat in the factory back of the boiler. Charles was down stairs. Edward was splitting wood in the yard, and William, the engineer, was busy about his engine. No other persons were about the place. Charles Myer told a reporter that he was down stairs drawing off some lye and preparing to boil some soap. His brother William had been busy getting up steam so that the work might be done, and after he had the engine running satisfactorily he shouted down stairs, “Hello Charley, I’ve got plenty of steam up now.” “How much have you got?” asked Charley. “About 60 pounds.” “have you for plenty of water?” “Yes; the water is up the third cock; she’s running bully.” “All right,” said Charley; “I’ll be ready to use the engine pretty soon.” “If I had known you wouldn’t have wanted steam right away I wouldn’t have fired up so early,” said William. Scarcely were the words out of his mouth when the boiler exploded. There was a deep rumble, a loud report, and a terrific shock which caused buildings in the vicinity of the place to tremble. The few people who saw the explosion from a safe distance say the boiler shed was suddenly demolished, the air was filled with sticks, bricks, dust, and debris, and the very ground shook as from a small earthquake. Neighbors and workmen from the Millwood distillery pump-house, across the way, tan to the scene to render assistance. Meantime Henry Myer and Charles Myer, who had been stunned by the shock, but were not hurt, rushed out of the building through the opening made by the explosion. They were horrified to find their father and brother William lying upon the ground. Confusion and excitement reigned for some time, the people scarcely comprehending what happened. Old Mr. Myer was found stretched out on the ground on the side of the yard, fatally hurt, unconscious and with his head and face terribly hurt, unconscious and with his head and face horribly mutilated by the flying bricks and missiles which had struck him. His injured sons carried him to Henry Myer’s house just in front, while the engineer at the pump-house helped attend to William. The boy was found on his hands and knees, attempting to rise to his feet. He was horribly scalded about the face and arms. The most curious part of the affair was the course taken by the boiler. The force of the explosion drove the heavy boiler through the weak plank wall, carried it clear across the lot lengthwise, a distance of 200 feet, through a board fence, and it finally landed up against the side of the house, under the porch, and alongside the basement. In its course the end of the boiler struck the ground and turned completely around, being in exactly the opposite position when it rested from what it was in the factory. Almost one-third of the rear part of the boiler was completely off all the way round, and the heavy piece of metal, weighing 300 pounds, was blown high in the air, carried over the roof of the two-story brick house No. 427, four lots below, struck the cornice, and fell into the street. The huge piece of iron was bent and twisted all out of shape. It was in the rear part of the boiler that the break occurred. Another large hole was blown in the front part of the shell. The position in which the boiler was found was a curious one. It was lying alongside the kitchen and under the stairs which lead up to the porch, as if it wished to hide itself after the destruction it had done. The New York Times New York, NY 23 Feb 1881 |
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1883 - Louisville Suddenly Deluged. An Embankment Burst At Midnight And One-Fifth Of The City Flooded. Louisville, Ky., Feb. 13. - During the past 24 hours the Ohio River, by bursting through cut-offs and pouring over embankments, has completely submerged one-fifth of the area of this City. At least 7,000 or 8,000 people have been driven from their homes, and the loss by actual destruction of property, to say nothing of that from the stoppage of foundries and manufactories, is fully $800,000. To explain the situation fully it is necessary to state that the northeastern part of the city lying north of main Street and east of First, is on a level with the river when at average height, and it has been supposed hitherto to be protected from the flood by an embankment high enough to withstand even an extraordinary rise. This portion of the city is called “The Point,” and is inhabited mostly by laboring people. Scattered here and there among the cottages of the inhabitants are most of the large manufacturing establishments of the city. At midnight last night the embankment which formed the only protection to this square mile of densely people territory gave way in several places simultaneously, and the immense body of water came down with tremendous force, sweeping everything before it. People who entered their houses on dry ground and went to bed in apparent safety awoke to find the water in the second stories. The frailer of the buildings were lifted from their foundations, carried, in some instances, a hundred rods and deposited against some other structure or left upside down in the midst of a sea of waters. Thirty-five squares were covered inside of a half hour to a depth of from 10 to 30 feet. It is impossible to state how many lives were lost, but it is feared that the number will prove great. Many men escaped by swimming. Several women with babies in their arms waded for squares before they reached places of security. At least 30 people of all ages and sexes were rescued from trees into which they had climbed. Hundred of domestic animals were drowned, and this to the people of “The Point” made a large item in the aggregate loss. It was impossible last night to gain any information either as to the extent of the damage or as to the condition of the sufferers, but this morning, with the first streak of daylight, the inundated region was alive with boats filled with relief parties. All night long large bonfires had been kept blazing on the edge of the flood, and hundreds of people availed themselves of the warmth. This morning ever available craft on the river was in active demand, and many families paid $10, and even $15, for the use of a boat for an hour or two to transport their furniture out of the reach of the water. Improvised rafts of doors, parts of fences, drift-wood, plank, and logs were to be seen in every direction, all freighted either with household goods or with people. The Time’s correspondent secured a skiff and made a complete tour of the entire flooded district. The entry from the river was made by rowing directly over the roof of a two-story frame boarding-house, of which the chimneys alone were visible. On the left the smoke-stack of an engine belonging to the Haroldsburg Railroad was to be seen about two feet above the water. Five cars on the track behind it were completely submerged. Here and there a chimney protruded above the water. On every other chimney was a cat, yelling with fright. At Dennis Long’s pipe foundry, where 500 men left their work at 4 o’clock yesterday, expecting to renew it this morning, there was four feet of water over the floor. A little further up a church was reached, of which the spire and about two feet of the roof was all that was visible. This church had served as a check to several dwelling-houses, barns, and stables, and eight or ten of these were heaped up in every manner of grotesque shapes behind it. Above the church, on the left, is Letterle’s huge slaughter-house, which was thrown open as a refuge to the people driven from their homes. In this filthy place no less than 500 women and children were huddles together in wet clothes, hungry, and crying piteously for relief. Directly across from the slaughter-house the Time’s correspondent found a family of eight-an old woman, the mother, and six children-confined in a garret so low that the children could barely stand upright, and the water was up to their knees. Two by two they were taken out and carried to the slaughter-house. The old woman said they had been overlooked by relief boats, and she tried to tell her feelings as she saw the water creep up, inch by inch, upon her, with apparently no hope of relief. Further on a bridge was met floating down stream, in the center of which was a fine Alderney cow and two pigs. Soon the scene of the break in the cut-off was reached, and from this point, where yesterday all was dry land, nothing but water was to be seen for a half-mile in each direction. The water-works, which stand on a high bluff, looked like some mammoth steam-boat standing stationary in the water. From this point the boat turned down Fulton Street, usually a handsome, well-paved avenue. Now the water was clear above the lamp-posts, and in the first house two men were rowing a boat into a second-story window to get out furniture. At a corner grocery, the proprietor sat astride the roof, coolly watching for the boxes of various articles which from time to time would be washed out from below and fishing them in with a long stick. Two squares further down, an entire lumber-yard, afloat, was found moving slowly but systematically in the direction of the current. The Police in this part of the city were covering their beats in sculls, and on the sharp lookout for thieves, who last night committed many depredations. The currents around the corners were very swift, and it was with the greatest difficulty that the boat avoided being swamped several times. The last thing before leaving the skiff at 2 o’clock, The Times’s correspondent was rowed to the building of Capt. Levi, on which are registered the high water marks of the floods of 1847 and 1832. The former was completely covered and the latter was 7 inches above the water. Since that time the water has been rising at the rate of an inch an hour and before morning the greatest flood on record will be eclipsed. It is still cloudy and raining hard at 7 o’clock to-night. There are grave apprehensions of another break at Portland, the western suburb of the city, which is already half flooded, and if it should occur the scenes of last night will be repeated. This calamity, however, cannot occur until near morning, and may be averted, should the river come to a stand. Mayor Jacobs has been constantly at work without rest since noon yesterday, trying to give relief to the sufferers. Several thousand dollars; worth of food was distributed today. The Times’s correspondent met the Mayor late to-night. He was worn out and dripping wet from head to foot. He said by to-morrow night he hoped to have nearly all the sufferers comfortable. The churches, public buildings, and hospitals are all thrown open, and a large force of men is at work dispensing supplies. Railroad communication by all roads east is cut off, except by the Ohio and Mississippi, which is transferring its passengers from Aurora, Ind., to Cincinnati by steamer. The situation of New-Albany and Jeffersonville, the towns directly across the river, is almost exactly a duplicate of that in Louisville, and much suffering and heavy damage has resulted. The New York Times New York, NY 14 Feb 1883 |
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1894 - FIVE FIREMEN BADLY HURT. SERIOUS CASUALTY AT THE BURNING OF A BUILDING AT LOUISVILLE. Louisville, Ky., Nov. 5. - Fire broke out in the building occupied by the Louisville branch of the Singer Sewing Machine Manufacturing company, at 552 Fourth Avenue, and before the flames could be extinguished did about $50,000 worth of damage. Just as the firemen had the fire under control the rear wall of the Singer building fell and five firemen were caught under it and badly hurt. Two of them, VALENTINE RIEHL and JAMES MANNIX, may die. The injured are: VALENTINE RIEHL, captain No. 2 hook and ladder company, may die. JAMES MANNIX, pipeman No. 3 engine company, may die. JOHN MORTON, captain No. 3 engine company, badly hurt. MONK CLINE, pipeman No. 8 engine company, left leg crushed and injured internally. EDWARD REIHL, ladder man No. 2 truck company, cut in top of head and left arm. At the time of the fire there was a large audience present at the Avenue Theater, which adjoins the Singer building. The fire was discovered by the people on the stage and the curtain was dropped in the middle of the last act and in less than twenty minutes the house was emptied of its occupants and a panic averted. CLINE is an old ball player and well known in the south and west. The fire is believed to be of incendiary origin. Logansport Pharos Indiana 5 Nov 1894 |
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1894 - AN ELECTRIC STORM Does a Large Amount of Damage at Louisville. MANY HOUSES UNROOFED AND RAZED. Electricity Causes a Panic Among Two Hundred Sewing Girls – Men Shocked and Burned by Falling Electric Wires, Etc. LOUISVILLE, KY., June 27. – Louisville was visited yesterday afternoon by a severe wind and electrical storm, which last half an hour. Many houses were unroofed and razed and the occupants had narrow escaped. Large shade trees were blown down and several people were injured by electric wires. The storm came from the southwest accompanied by heavy rain. The path of the storm was almost identical with that taken by the fatal tornado of March 27, 1890. Twelve persons had a narrow escape in a house at Twenty-eighth street and Greenwood avenue. Mrs. Herman Zeilch, her children and those of a neighbor were in the house when the storm struck. The roof was blown off and carried 200 feet. The occupants of the house were buried in the falling debris, but none were injured more than a few scratches and bruises. At the jeans clothing plant of Tapp, Leathers & Co., 823 West Main street, where 200 girls and women are employed, a panic reigned. The sewing machines are run by electricity. The electric wires feeding them became overcharged and many of the girls were shocked or fainted. Mary Wagner was badly burned about the arms and neck, as was also Belle Ackerman. Both are in a serious condition, the latter being in convulsions up to a late hour. Twelve other girls were carried out insensible, but soon revived. Directly opposite two men, George Englert and Louis Klopheke, were badly shocked and burned by fallen electric wires. Many minor accidents are reported but no fatalities. In New Albany, Ind., directly across the river, the wind was also severe, and much damage resulted from fallen trees and flying debris. Decatur Weekly Republican Decatur, IL 28 Jun 1894 |
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1897 - MIDNIGHT FIRE AT LOUISVILLE. DAMAGE DONE IN THE WHOLESALE DISTRICT TO THE AMOUNT OF $150,000. Louisville, Ky., Nov. 7. - A fire broke out at midnight tonight on Main Street, in the wholesale business district. The flames originated on the top floor of the four-story building occupied by Buford & Lawson wholesale millinery dealers, and quickly spread to the four-story building on the west, occupied by Benjamin B. Aller, wholesale dealer in boots and shoes. The flames were fed by a large quantity of wax used in making wax flowers. At 1 o'clock the fire was brought under control. The stocks of the McIntosh Millinery company, P. G. Cooker, millinery dealer, and Louisville tin and stove buildings adjoining, were considerably damaged by smoke and water. A conservative estimate prices the total loss at $150,000, fully covered by insurance. Nebraska State Journal Lincoln, Nebraska 8 Nov 1897 |
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1898 - A COSTLY SMOKE. NATIONAL TOBACCO WAREHOUSE AT LOUISVILLE, KY., BURNED. THREE MEN WERE SERIOUSLY INJURED, TWO OF WHOM MAY DIE. HUNDREDS OF OTHERS WERE ENDANGERED -- THE LOSS WILL BE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF ONE MILLION DOLLARS, FULLY INSURED -- MANY PERSONS OUT OF WORK. Louisville, Ky., Feb. 26 - Picking, drying and steaming warehouses of the National Tobacco Co., situated at Twenty-fourth and Main Streets, were totally destroyed by fire Friday morning. The loss will amount to $1,000,000, fully covered by insurance. Mr. W. R. Duke, of New York, president of the American Tobacco Co., of which the National Tobacco Co., of Louisville, is a branch, is in the city and witnessed the destruction of his property. He said that it would be at once rebuilt. The fire was discovered at 8 o'clock on the second floor of the building used for drying purposes. Three alarms called the entire department to the scene, and although the firemen worked heroically they could do little less than save the property adjoining, as the three big buildings which occupy nearly the entire square between Twenty-fourth and Twenty-fifth and Main and Market Streets were seen to be inevitably doomed. From the three-story drying building the flames spread rapidly west to the four-story warehouse and east to the three-story steaming house. In the building which first caught 200 hands, mostly women and children, were employed, but the majority of these escaped safely, only a few being slightly injured, as did 200 who were at work in the steaming building. In the four-story warehouse 1,000 men were at work, but they had plenty of time to escape. Three men were hemmed in by the flames and all were more or less injured before they could make their egress from the burning plant. The injured are: GEORGE TISSHENDORFF, foreman picking department, back injured and severe injuries about head and chest. WILLIAM SEMPLE, picker, skull fractured. JOHN PACKHAM, both legs broken and internally injured. SEMPLE and PECKHAM will probably die. The flames gained rapid headway and the fire department the employes of this building began to make their escape in an orderly manner, but GEORGE TISSHENDORF, foreman of two of the floors, and JOHN PACKHAM and WILLIAM SEMPLE remained too long in the burning building and were forced to jump for their lives. PARKHAM and SEMPLE sustained injuries which will probably result in their death. Fourteen hundred men, women and children are thrown out of employment. The origin of the fire is unknown. The night watchman, LEWIS LEACH, said that he left the building to go home at 6 o'clock, and that everything was all right then. The force of employes go to work at 6:30 and it was not until after they had been at work about two hours and a half that the fire was discovered. The loss will be in the neighborhood of $1,000,000. Daily Public Ledger Maysville, Kentucky Feb 26, 1898 |
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1903 - EIGHT PERSONS ARE INJURED. Court House Elevator Drops Five Stories. Louisville, Ky., March 18.- The elevator at the Jefferson county court house here fell five stories today and cause the injury of eight persons, two of whom are thought to be seriously hurt. The seriously injured are: Mrs. Agnes Wilson, back broken. Mrs. Ed Simon, head crushed and internally injured. There were fourteen persons in the car at the time the accident occurred. The entire carload of people boarded the elevator at the top floor. Morning World-Herald Omaha, Nebraska 19 Mar 1903 |
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1907 - WATER REACHES CHIMNEYS LOUISVILLE, KY., SWEPT BY RAGING WATER OF THE RIVER Louisville, Ky., Jan. 20.--With the Ohio relentlessly pouring its flood southward and maintaining a steady rise of an inch an hour. Kentucky streams contributing their volumes from the mountain regions, a high wind blowing up stream all day damaging shipping and preventing the rapid passing of the current. Louisville tonight faces a flood situation which promises to equal before the crest is passed the stage of 1894, the greatest flood ever known to this city. Thousands of people are homeless and are housed in school buildings, warehouses and other structures. Factories in this city, Jeffersonville and New Albany are closed, throwing hundreds of people out of work; stocks of merchandise in the business houses along the river front are ruined, much lumber has been washed away and many small houses with their contents toppled over into the water. A conservative estimate of the damage done, with the crest of the flood yet two days away, is $250,000. Street car service in several parts of the city is seriously interfered with, while trains on nearly all the railroads are arriving anywhere from three to ten hours late. Late this afternoon the backwater from Bear Grass creek forced its way out of its banks at Broadway and was soon spreading over the Louisville & Nashville's Cincinnati tracks. This district is within a five blocks of a fashionable residence section and it is many years since that part of the city was overflowed. The water is within two feet of the Seventh street station, which is the terminal of the Illinois Central, Southern, Baltimore & Ohio Southwestern, Big Four and Chesapeake & Ohio railroads. The tracks of the Illinois Central, the Baltimore & Ohio Southwestern and Southern railway are still two feet underwater. All night at the 'cut-off' where the greatest danger was supposed to center, men were on duty to watch for a break. The levee withstood the pressure, but about daylight the rapidly encroaching flood drove the watchers from their position and the water began to pour over the embankment into the valley of homes known as "The Point." Between 1,300 and 1,400 houses occupy that portion of Louisville. For the most part they are the abodes of river men inured to all sorts of hardships. All day long the water poured over the embankment a foot deep and quickly seeking its level, transformed a large territory of the poorer residence section into a vast inland sea. Melwood avenue, from Sixteenth street to the Country club is under water, which is in some places entering into second stories. During the afternoon a force of policemen was sent to a point within three blocks of the flood area, where they stopped all sightseers, fearing a loss of life should the embankment at the cut-off give way. The scene in the Shippingport, in the western end of the city, is one of desolation. Here the water covers the houses, not only to the first and second floors, but in some instances the chimneys are the sole visible evidence of a house. Thousands of people abandoned their homes in this section two days ago and the majority were unable to take any of their effects with them, as it was impossible to secure enough boats and men to effect the removal. Last night's wind toppled over several houses and the waters today, carried them with their contents down stream. This cold weather is causing much suffering among the people. The city officials have the situation well in hand and are feeding all the sufferers who are unable to provide for themselves. Last night's storm did much damage to telegraph and telephone wires, and gangs of men were busy today repairing the damage in all sections of the city. Wires are down in many directions and little or no news of conditions above and below the city was received. Morning World-Herald Omaha, NE 21 Jan 1907 |
Ancestors Who Were Born in Louisville, Jefferson, Kentucky, USA
McClain
Ervin Arnold McClain (05 Apr 1922, Louisville, Jefferson, Kentucky, USA - 16 Jun 2007, Louisville, Jefferson, Kentucky, USA)
Roederer
Sandra Kay Roederer (22 Feb 1956, Louisville, Jefferson, Kentucky, USA - 16 Aug 2002, Putnam, Windham, Connecticut, USA)
Ancestors Who Died in Louisville, Jefferson, Kentucky, USA
Feige
Gertrude Marie "Trudy" Feige (18 Jun 1900, Webster, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA - 27 Jun 1989, Louisville, Jefferson, Kentucky, USA)
McClain
Ervin Arnold McClain (05 Apr 1922, Louisville, Jefferson, Kentucky, USA - 16 Jun 2007, Louisville, Jefferson, Kentucky, USA)
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