It was almost 90 years ago that our area experienced a flood that brought heavy damage, destruction, and fear to our area.  It was the third major flood in less than 10 years and it was much worse than either of its two predecessors.

            Unlike the floods of 1925 and 1933, the series of events leading up to the flood

The swollen Perkiomen Creek covered the Fruitville Road bridge in Upper Hanover Township.

of July 10, 1935, began when a welcomed rainfall quenched the thirst of the area after a period of drought.  The life-giving liquid fell from the sky as intermittent showers throughout the day.  It became a steady rain by nightfall.  By Tuesday morning, the welcomed weather became a torrential terror.  The parched earth couldn't drink the water fast enough.  Rain in sheets fell into our Valley.  Water in volumes that pumped up the strength of local creeks to the point where nine dams fell.  Five in Powder Valley, two in Hereford, and two in Green Lane gave way under the raging force.  The rapid floodwaters ravaged the region for almost 10 hours.

            The Perkiomen Creek rose to a depth of 15 feet above the roadway of Route 29 at Millside.  So deep and strong were the currents that they lifted the old Mill-Side Tavern from its foundation.  A Town & Country account reported that the building was

An auto sprays water as it makes its way along Seminary Street in Pennsburg.

hurled with a deafening crash against trees and accumulated debris.  The building then went to pieces.

            Just to the north, in the Powder Valley and Hosensack areas, the usually peaceful Indian Creek became an enraged carrier of devastation as it tore apart dam after dam, virtually wiping out the mills that depended on the normally calm flow to power their wheels.  Almost 60 feet of Perkiomen Railroad track was left suspended in midair when the dam at Stahl's Mill broke, and the rushing water eroded the embankment where the track rested. 

            Among the victims of the Macoby Creek waters was the popular Shady Nook Resort in Upper Hanover Township.  Much of the park's equipment, along with sections

Sixty feet of the Perkiomen Railroad bed was washed away near Hosensack leaving the rails suspended in air.

of what is now Route 663, was washed away in that area of the Pennsburg-Geryville highway.

            The damage to farms was described as inestimable.  Many cultivated fields were awash in deep gullies as the fertile soil was carried away.  In corn fields, most of the drought-affected crops were too small to sustain a great loss from the heavy rain.  But the horror stories abounded about chicken-coops, brooder houses, and other outbuildings that washed away.

            A bit of local history was lost when the supports of the Swinging Bridge gave way under the increasing pressure of the water and debris piling up against it.  The quaint Upper Hanover Township crossing was originally built for the convenience of school children.  Over the years, it became a popular Perkiomen Creek landmark

Barns and garages were damaged near the intersection of Route 63 and Route 29 in Green Lane and the intersection was badly washed out from the flood.

enjoyed by many residents and area visitors. 

            In Green Lane, the Macoby rose nearly to the top of the walls of the bridge Route 29 uses to cross it.  Five feet of water flooded the basement of the F. F. Sowers store.  Automobiles at Samuel Gerhart's Trading Post were covered with water.  Eighteen inches of water flooded the office of the Fred Kleinbach Coal and Lumber Yard.  At the H. S. Embody & Sons mill near Perkiomenville, a crib containing 12 tons of corn was washed away.

            The earlier flood brought destruction that was estimated in the tens of thousands of dollars.  The estimate of the destruction wrought upon our area in 1935 was $1 million.  In the middle of our nation's Great Depression, this ...