Sacramento’s largest flood - January 9, 1862

On January 9, 1862, the levee broke along the American River near 31st Street at the same spot the levee broke a month prior on December 9th, immediately flooding the lower portions of the city. California was experiencing, at this time, a 200-year storm that dumped 24 inches of rain the month of January alone. The Central Valley became one large inland sea.
For Sacramento, this flood became worse than any other flood it had experienced in the past. On the 10th, flood waters spread to the whole city. Merchants moved the goods in their stores to platforms erected above the line of supposed danger. Livestock owners drove horses, mules, and cattle to the I street and Front street levees. Citizens moved themselves and belongings to the upper stories of houses. Many quickly moved to high spots in the city such as Poverty Ridge (at T and 21st Streets) and at the high knoll that once contained Sutter’s Fort (only the large Central Building was still standing at this time).
Small boats became the main mode of transportation to move about the city. It was reported that the water on J and K Streets was four to five feet high. The Sacramento Daily Union newspaper reported only four people drowned in the city because citizens had become accustomed to how to react during floods and had safety procedures in place.
Sacramento stayed flooded for three months. By the end of January, the Legislature moved to San Francisco for the remainder of the session. In March 1862, William Brewer, a federal land surveyor assisting with the first geological survey of California, was visiting Sacramento when he wrote, “I don’t think the city will ever rise from the shock, I don’t see how it can. Yet it has a brighter side. No people can so stand calamity as this people. They are used to it.”
Brewer’s words were ominous because Sacramento, following the flood, did “rise from the shock.” To save the city from further flooding, the city began to raise its buildings and streets, the American River’s confluence with the Sacramento River was rerouted a mile north, and a much stronger levee was built. There is a reason the official motto for Sacramento is “Urbs Indomita,” which is Latin for the “Indomitable City.”
In this video, Aly discusses the largest flood in Sacramento’s history. Want to learn more about Sacramento’s floods and the underground of Sacramento, join us on an Underground Tour!
#TodayInHistory #OnThisDay #sacramento #museum #sachistorymuseum #oldsacramento #youtube

[@Myselfnyou]

162nd anniversary today!

[@dibsdibs3495]

Why does it feel so cool to realize that 1962 was 62 years ago?

[@Myselfnyou]

@@dibsdibs3495 because numbers rule!

[@AndrewsonHernandez]

It's a historic disaster that might happen again!

[@Buck_Bentley]

But what about Jan 6th?

[@juicyjumbler]

What a q t
thats a lot of rain.