﻿442 
  NEW 
  YORK 
  STATE 
  MUSEUM 
  

  

  Considerable 
  damage 
  was 
  done 
  to 
  the 
  farms 
  in 
  the 
  flats. 
  Accord- 
  

   ing 
  to 
  statements 
  made 
  by 
  Hervey 
  Ely, 
  a 
  former 
  citizen 
  of 
  Roch- 
  

   ester, 
  the 
  flow 
  of 
  the 
  river 
  in 
  the 
  flood 
  of 
  1835 
  amounted 
  to 
  about 
  

   36,000 
  cubic 
  feet 
  per 
  second. 
  

  

  In 
  February, 
  1857, 
  a 
  serious 
  flood 
  occurred 
  in 
  the 
  Genesee 
  river 
  

   which 
  carried 
  away 
  not 
  only 
  a 
  number 
  of 
  buildings 
  on 
  the 
  north 
  

   side 
  of 
  the 
  Main 
  street 
  bridge 
  at 
  Rochester, 
  but 
  also 
  undermined 
  

   the 
  piers 
  of 
  that 
  bridge 
  and 
  even 
  finally 
  swept 
  away 
  the 
  greater 
  

   part 
  of 
  the 
  old 
  structure. 
  A 
  new 
  bridge 
  was 
  in 
  process 
  of 
  con- 
  

   struction 
  at 
  the 
  time. 
  

  

  The 
  great 
  flood 
  of 
  1865. 
  March, 
  1865, 
  was 
  a 
  period 
  of 
  general 
  

   high 
  water 
  throughout 
  western 
  New 
  York. 
  Long 
  continued 
  cold 
  

   weather 
  and 
  a 
  heavy 
  snowfall 
  were 
  followed 
  by 
  a 
  sudden 
  thaw, 
  

   accompanied 
  by 
  rain, 
  about 
  the 
  middle 
  of 
  March. 
  On 
  the 
  six- 
  

   teenth 
  a 
  freshet 
  in 
  the 
  upper 
  Genesee 
  valley 
  was 
  reported, 
  and 
  

   on 
  the 
  seventeenth 
  the 
  water 
  was 
  very 
  high 
  at 
  Rochester, 
  but 
  

   aside 
  from 
  the 
  usual 
  alarm 
  manifested 
  on 
  such 
  occasions, 
  the 
  sit- 
  

   uation 
  was 
  not 
  considered 
  specially 
  serious. 
  The 
  river, 
  however, 
  

   continued 
  to 
  rise 
  during 
  the 
  night 
  of 
  March 
  17th, 
  until 
  the 
  banks 
  

   of 
  the 
  Genesee 
  valley 
  and 
  the 
  Erie 
  canals 
  were 
  overflowed, 
  with 
  

   the 
  water 
  pouring 
  direct 
  from 
  the 
  river 
  into 
  the 
  canals. 
  The 
  

   river 
  further 
  rose 
  above 
  its 
  banks 
  until 
  finally 
  nearly 
  the 
  entire 
  

   central 
  portion 
  of 
  Rochester 
  was 
  under 
  water. 
  During 
  the 
  whole 
  

   of 
  the 
  18th 
  and 
  part 
  of 
  March 
  19th 
  the 
  only 
  means 
  of 
  transporta- 
  

   tion 
  throughout 
  the 
  entire 
  business 
  portion 
  of 
  Rochester 
  was 
  by 
  

   boat. 
  The 
  gas 
  supply 
  was 
  cut 
  off 
  early 
  in 
  the 
  disaster, 
  leaving 
  the 
  

   city 
  in 
  darkness. 
  The 
  New 
  York 
  Central 
  & 
  Hudson 
  River 
  Rail- 
  

   road 
  bridge 
  over 
  the 
  river 
  was 
  carried 
  away, 
  and 
  traffic 
  sus- 
  

   pended 
  on 
  that 
  railway 
  for 
  several 
  days. 
  The 
  damage 
  to 
  property 
  

   is 
  stated 
  to 
  have 
  exceeded 
  $1,000,000.! 
  

  

  Rochester 
  newspapers 
  of 
  March, 
  1865, 
  give 
  detailed 
  accounts 
  of 
  

   the 
  Genesee 
  flood, 
  from 
  which 
  it 
  is 
  gleaned 
  that 
  the 
  damage 
  must 
  

   have 
  been 
  very 
  severe, 
  and 
  may 
  have 
  even 
  considerably 
  exceeded 
  

   $1,000,000. 
  

  

  lThe 
  foregoing 
  details 
  of 
  floods 
  in 
  the 
  Genesee 
  river 
  up 
  to 
  and 
  including 
  

   1865, 
  hare 
  been 
  mostly 
  gleaned 
  from 
  Peck's 
  History 
  of 
  Rochester. 
  The 
  

   newspapers 
  of 
  the 
  day 
  have 
  also 
  been 
  referred 
  to 
  for 
  particulars 
  of 
  the- 
  

   great 
  flood 
  of 
  1865. 
  

  

  