Image from the 1937 Louisville Flood

Geographically, Louisville has been described as a “bowl.” Being a river town, and bowl-shaped, Louisville is susceptible to flooding. Of course the “Big One” was the 1937 flood, when the river crested at 30 feet above flood stage. Seventy percent of the city of Louisville was under water, along with ninety percent of Jeffersonville, Indiana.* The Filson Historical Society has hundreds of articles, books, maps, and other items from the 1937 flood.  You can find these items listed in our online catalog at www.filsonhistorical.org, and view them here at The Filson.

Due to the devastation caused by the 1937 flood, massive flood walls with removable gates and pumping stations were installed, which remain in place today. In fact, the pumping station at Beargrass Creek is the second most powerful in the world, and can pump up to 2.5 million gallons an hour.** This is good considering that we are again in need of help in keeping the Ohio River out of the city.

 * From the National Weather Service website. http://www.crh.noaa.gov/lmk/?n=flood_37 

 

** From – “Flood Pumping Stations Protecting Louisville Metro : Beargrass Creek Pumping Station Is World’s 2nd Most Powerful” By Andy Alcock/WLKY at WLKY website – http://www.wlky.com/r/27666272/detail.html

Image from the 1937 Louisville Flood

 

First and foremost, the immediate concern in Haiti is to save people’s lives.  Eventually though, as Haitians begin to reconstruct their cities, they will need access to their cultural heritage and public history documented and preserved by their libraries and archives. What happens when records crucial to the identity of an individual (think like our American our social security, vital records, government documentation, etc.) are destroyed?  What if the cultural heritage materials intrinsic to our identity as a nation, such as the Declaration of Independence or the Statue of Liberty are compromised?

The American, and international, archival and library community are gravely concerned about Haitian cultural heritage and have responded to this international crisis in a number of ways, namely raising money for humanitarian aid and sharing disaster relief information.  Follow the links below to see efforts underway and to learn ways in which you can get involved.

The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions, described as the global voice of the library and information profession, issued a statement on their solidarity and support to their Haitian colleagues, pledging to assist in any way they can.

UNESCO called for ban on trade in Haitian artifacts to prevent pillaging of the country’s cultural heritage.

The U.S. Committee of the Blue Shield is a charitable nonprofit organization committed to the protection of cultural property worldwide during armed conflict. The ICBS asserts that cultural heritage is “fundamental in rebuilding the identity, the dignity and the hope of the communities after a catastrophe.”  To read their statement on the earthquake in Haiti and on how to help protect cultural property, click here.

The International Council on Archives has alerted the Haitian government and the international aid community of the threat to cultural resources.  As the immediate crisis recedes and reconstruction begins, particularly the clearing of debris & building ruins, the salvage of records and cultural property will be crucial to resuming political and administrative functioning. Read their statement “Reconstruction rather than Destruction.”

Libraries Without Borders’s mission is t0 support education in developing and disaster affected areas by providing children, students and adults access to well-equipped, up-to-date and efficient libraries. LWB has information on aiding the survival of Haitian Culture by donating to shelter, restore, and digitize Haitian archive and manuscripts; rebuild infrastructures, and support libraries and educational institutions; and give books to rebuild destroyed libraries’ collections.

Lastly, the American Library Association gave a statement about the destruction of cultural institution in Haiti and created a web page with tips on how to help.

Margaretha Beatty's January 30, 1854 letter to her father-in-law, Adam Beatty.

The collections at The Filson are known for their wealth of information on the history of Kentucky and the Ohio River Valley. The Filson’s holdings include a variety of materials from the residents of the Ohio Valley dating from the first settlement of Kentucky in the 1700s through the present day. However, those who settled in the Ohio Valley often had a large web of family and friends stretching across the United States, and in some cases, around the world. As a result, many collections include letters and other items describing locales far from Kentucky. One example is the Beatty-Quisenberry Family Papers. During the antebellum era, the family of Adam Beatty, a Mason County judge and farmer, had members in Maryland, Virginia, Ohio, Louisiana, and California. Their friends and acquaintances covered much of the eastern United States. The materials generated by these people living beyond the Ohio Valley demonstrate the patterns of life in other regions and enrich our understanding of life in Kentucky and the surrounding area.

In the 1850s, one of Beatty’s sons and his family moved to Sacramento, California. Mary Beatty, Adam Beatty’s daughter-in-law, frequently wrote to her in-laws, describing life in California in the early years of statehood. In one paragraph from a January 1854 letter from Beatty to her father-in-law, she reveals a variety of insights into life in California:

Sacramento is now the Capital of the state and I suppose it will always be we have a very fine state House and water works, the water from the river is distributed all over the city they are putting up gas works to light the city also. We had a dreadful accident here on last Saturday, the steam Boat Pearl blew up and killed about 60 persons. 53 bodies have been found and buried, or to be buried this afternoon. A solemn procession went out of the city yesterday to the grave yard to bury those that were buried yesterday. It is estimated that there were 7000 in procession beside those who went as spectators. There were 13 chinese bodies carried out, and a procession of 700 Chinese with Chinese Music. The Christians and Pagans were burying their countrymen at the same time. Quite near to each other with their different rites. At every Chinese grave there was a stick of incense and red candles burning and in the midst of the graves they had provisions spread out, with a hog roasted whole.

In that one section, Beatty reveals political developments in the still young California, the dangers of nineteenth century life, the large Chinese presence in California, and the close proximity of the Chinese and white populations.

Although letters like Beatty’s are less common in The Filson’s holdings than materials dealing with Kentucky and the Ohio Valley, they are present throughout the collections. They offer a breadth to The Filson’s holdings which makes them of use to researchers whose interests extend well beyond this region.