Assembled by Judy Duchan, February 9, 2015
The Felson family experienced several floods in the course of their lives in the greater Cincinnati Area. Because they were poor, especially at first, they lived in areas of town near the river that were susceptible to flooding. The overflowing of the Ohio River and its tributaries were a frequent problem for families living in the area of Newport, Kentucky and Cincinnati, Ohio. Alan Travis remembers Sophie’s descriptions of how the family had to scrub down the walls of their home in Newport to rid it of mud caused by flooding. Chippy recounted to Amy Travis that the family evacuated their house when the floods came.
But it was in the year of 1913 that the flood was particularly severe in Newport and much of eastern United States. The Ohio River and its tributary, the Licking River, flooded and covered much of the north western sections of Newport, Kentucky. The Felson family’s house at 331 West 6th Street was in the middle of that flooded district (the darker brown area in the map below).
The picture at the top of this essay shows 4th Street underwater. This street was just two blocks away the family’s 6th Street abode.
Also in the flooded area and only four blocks from the West 6th Street house was a strip of tailor shops where Sol was likely to have worked.
The Felson Family 