Hurricane Ida vs The Great Freshet of 1869

The September 1, 2021, storm spawned from the remnants of Hurricane Ida was one for the record books not only for the rain it brought to our area, but also for the 16 tornadoes reported around the Delaware Valley. Local news reported that the Schuylkill River is expected to crest at its second highest in recorded history on September 2, 2021 -- surpassed only by flooding in 1869. ​

This 1869 event occurred October 2-4 and was known as "The Great Freshet of 1869" and caused death and destruction in PA, NJ, DE, MD, DC, NY, and beyond. For trivia buffs, this is the notorious flood that washed away the Manayunk Bridge. The storm's destruction was reported on the front page of the Philadelphia Inquirer with details neighborhood by neighborhood and state by state. ​ Read about the Great Freshet of 1869 now by downloading the 1869 Philadelphia Inquirer pages.

These PDFs are large to provide maximum readability.

Front Page (PDF 5M)

Continuation on Page 8 (PDF 6M)