Photograph, Erie Canal aqueduct during Rochester’s Great Flood

A view of the devastation from Rochester’s Great Flood, March 17-20, 1865. In this photograph, the level of the Genesee River has risen to the banks of the Erie Canal aqueduct that normally stood above it. There is a canal boat on the aqueduct, with debris deposited around it. This view faces northwest.

The Great Flood was caused by a long period of cold weather and heavy snowfall followed by a sudden thaw accompanied by rain. The maximum rate of flow of the river in Rochester was estimated at 54,000 cubic feet per second. Damages were said to have exceeded one million dollars. The banks of both the river and the canal overflowed into the city. Small boats were used on some flooded streets. The flood began on a Friday and the river returned to its boundaries within the city on Monday morning, when the streets were finally cleared of water.

Credit: Courtesy of the Rochester Public Library Local History & Genealogy Division.
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