Historic Flood Washed Down Powder River 100 Years Ago

Thanks to Glory Little and Tammy Buss for suggesting the Arvada Flood for this week’s column.

This past year the Sheridan and Buffalo area has seen nearly unprecedented rainfall during the summer months.

And this year wasn’t the only time. One-hundred years ago this month, one of the worst floods in Sheridan and Johnson County occurred. On September 26, 1923, Powder River, which is normally a slow moving, sluggish river, known as being ‘too thick to drink and two thin to plow,’ overflowed its banks, sweeping through the town of Arvada, washing out a railroad bridge, and flooding many near-by ranches.

The flood was caused by a late season cloudburst, which resulted in a 20-foot-high wall of water roiling down the riverbed and flooding everything in its path.

This from The Laramie Republican and the Laramie Boomerang, October 2, 1923 – Wyoming Counties May Lose Million Dollars in Powder River Flood (By Associated Press.) Sheridan, Wyo., Oct. 2.—Twenty-five passengers, including one woman, marooned east of Powder River when the Burlington’s 350-foot bridge was washed away near Arvada, Wyo., Saturday night, arrived in Sheridan early today, after having been snaked across the river on a steel cable. They report unprecedented floods in the Powder River section, in which ranch houses, barns, haystacks and livestock were swept down the river.

Judge W. S. Metz of Sheridan, one of the members of the party, declared the damage to the state, highway, ranches and homes in Sheridan and Johnson counties along Powder River would in all probability exceed $750,000, and may reach $1,000,000.

(That was a lot of money in 1923, equivalent to around 17 million in today’s purchasing power.)

Arvada suffered heavy damage, Judge Metz declared, some of the houses in the river bottom section having been washed away. No loss of life is reported, although communication with many ranch sections has been cut off. Judge Metz stated many ranchers barely escaped with their lives when the water came down Saturday night. At his own ranch, on Powder River, he said, the occupants escaped to high ground by wading in water several feet deep. Powder River is rapidly receding, although vast sections are still underwater.

This report was from the Buffalo Bulletin, October 4, 1923 – Dave Muir Tells of Flood Waters Sweep Barber, on Powder River. Wednesday afternoon the first news to be received in Buffalo of the damage done along the Powder River in Johnson County was brought in by Dave Muir who is ranching near Barber. (Barber was located right on the Powder River on the 1920 Wyoming map. It had a short-lived post office as well)

Mr. Muir in telling of the first inkling or knowledge of anything was at about four o’clock a. m. when he awoke and heard something like running water and getting up in the dark stepped into water, he then called the man who was working with him on the ranch and received a reply that Dave was looney, but the ranch hand was soon convinced that they were in danger. The two men made investigations the best they could by lamp light, and then proceeded to take on feed before they would leave for dry land and baked a pan of biscuits and had breakfast.

The noise made by the chickens caused Mr. Muir to start for the hen house but when he stepped off the porch he went into water up to his waist and decided that the water was coming to fast to do other than make haste for dry land.

Mr. Muir states that the damage done along this section of Powder River is incalculable at the present time. Many hay stacks were lost and all grain and along the river bottom land is a total loss. It was not thought that there was any of the homes washed away but there was from 2 to 6 feet or more water in the homes and all one could see was fence post with barbed wire floating down the streams also sheds and wagon boxes, farm machinery and implements, chickens and live stock.

So far the greatest loss known is that by the Schoonover Brothers who were working their sheep together getting ready to make shipment and out of two bands of sheep of five thousand head they lost 4500. Many lost horses, pigs, cattle and fowls of one and two and in some case there have been losses of six to eight head of cattle the exact number will be hard to determine until after the country dries out enough to gravel over the road and the people can get back to their homes.

Among the number of families that are known to have been forced to leave their homes and flee for the higher lands are the James Leath family. Don DeBarth family. Jess Bloxam family and Henry Baumgartner.

Mr. DeBarth, who is the postmaster at Barber, was forced to abandon the store and everything is believed to have been ruined as it was impossible to tell exactly how high the water was in the building. The C C. Bugher home was the refuge of the homeless who were driven out by the high water.

The water came so fast after daybreak that one family who attempted to make their get-a-way in their car were forced to abandon the machine and use saddle horses to get to places of safety. The Schools at Barber and Plainview have been closed for two weeks and the teachers, Misses Gladys Condlt and Eunice Dalsell, were brought to Buffalo, making the trip on horseback. The losses caused by the flood waters of the Powder River through Johnson County is estimated to run up to $100,000 and all ranches on the river have not been heard from, some claim that the loss, when all counted up will exceed that amount. Rumor has it that the Z L Bar ranch on Powder River sustained most a total loss of property such as fence, sheds and corrals, the flood waters having swept everything away. Wednesday noon Mr. Ritchie Young was unable to verify any damage done as not having heard any news direct from the ranch.

Some people were missing, although there were no reported human lives lost in the flood in Sheridan or Johnson County. This from the Laramie Republican and the Laramie Boomerang, October 5, 1923 – Automobile Found in Northern Flood (Sheridan Wyo.) Oct. 5. Possible loss of life in the Powder River flood in Sheridan County was indicated to- day. When receding waters disclosed an abandoned automobile on the Elk Quarter Circle ranch of A. R. Williams beyond Arvada. The car bore 1923 license, number Wyoming 14,723, It is it may have belonged to a party of hunters who were caught in the flood last Saturday night.

At the sheriff’s office here, it was stated the license number of the car had been issued to Ray Wells of Buffalo, Wyo. A message from Buffalo to the Post Enterprise this afternoon stated that Ray Wells had been seen on the streets of Buffalo since the flood, but that no information could be secured as to the whereabouts of his brother, Charles Wells.

There was no follow up story, so we have no idea if Charles Wells turned up somewhere after the flood waters receded.

Arvada and Barber were not the only towns that were flooded when the Powder River overflowed its banks. This from the Laramie Republican and the Laramie Boomerang, October 1, 1923 – Montana Town Under Water (By Associated Press.), Sheridan, Wyo., Oct. I—Broadus, Mont., on Powder River, is under water and ail residents of that town are moving into Miles City, according to a telegram received here today by M. B. Camplin from Hugh Camplln, editor of the Powder River Examiner of Broadus. Broadus is a town of 800 population.

After the flood, there was clean up and rebuilding, as the railroad did on the bridge that was washed away.

The Sheridan Post-Enterprise, November 4, 1923 – Q Seeks Bedrock For Arvada Bridge. Test holes for the new Burlington Railroad bridge to be built over Powder River near Arvada, to replace the one swept out in the late September flood, have reached a depth of 65 foot, it was learned Saturday at the railroad’s offices here. The test will be carried to bedrock in an effort to get a firm base for the new concrete and steel structure, it was stated.

Gravel is being hauled onto the ground of operation and other materials are being ordered. It is hoped that the concrete piers of the new bridge can be completed before the water season next spring. The new bridge will be longer than the former 350-foot structure, it was stated. The test for bedrock was started Thursday. At present a wooden-pile structure is serving to take the railroad over the “mile wide and an inch deep” stream.

Flood control measures on many of the streams and creeks, like the re-routing of Goose Creek through Sheridan, help to avoid major floods like the one on Powder River in 1923. But, an historic flood happened 100 years ago this month.