1826 Red River flood

Flood in what is now Manitoba, Canada The 1826 Red River Flood was a devastating flood that took place along the Red River in Manitoba. The flood was the largest to impact the Winnipeg area (reaching a peak flow 40% above that of the 1997 Red River flood), and was exacerbated by high winds and ice jams. The flooding caused a redistribution of population in the Red River Valley, affected the placement of the Canadian Pacific Railway line, and greatly influenced future disaster planning in the province.http://pcag.uwinnipeg.ca/Prairie-Perspectives/PP-Vol06/Rannie.pdf Rannie WF Some observations on peak stages during the 1826 Red River flood and the 'Fleming Conundrum' 2014-05-26 2023-05-31 https://web.archive.org/web/20230531192229/http://pcag.uwinnipeg.ca/Prairie-Perspectives/PP-Vol06/Rannie.pdf deadJohn Pritchard; George Bryce (ed.), "Third Letter; Flood of 1826," Glimpses of the Past in the Red River Settlement: From letters of Mr. John Pritchard, 1805-1836 (Middle Church, Man.: Rupert's Land Indian Industrial School Press, 1892), pgs. 18-20. Accessed 8 October 2017 http://peel.library.ualberta.ca/bibliography/197/24.html Background The winter of 1825-1826 was notably cold and snowy, beginning with “a very wet, disagreeable fall.” Green 1974 p.144 During the winter, a sustained snowstorm covered the buffalo herd the community was using for sustenance, causing hunters to lose their trail. This resulted in famine at the same time as the intense cold caused water sources to freeze exceptionally thick.Green 1974, p. 145 Starting in April, a rapid thaw began combined with heavy rain. Ice jams on rivers initially held back the water, causing swelling upstream.Holowachuk 2009 p.11 Flood On May 3, 1826, the ice jam on the Red River broke, causing water levels to begin to rise. May 5 was the start of significant flooding, with a first-hand account of Francis Heron of the Hudson’s Bay Company reporting 47 houses destroyed at Fort Garry.Holowachuk 2009 p.13 Occupants of the town fled to Stonewall Ridge in the west and Birds Hill in the east. At the maximum extent of the flood, the entire 27 km span between these two points was under water, leading to the river being described as a “large lake”.Jackson 1970 p64 The flooding continued to worsen over the coming weeks. On May 7, an ice jam on the Assiniboine River, a tributary of the Red River, broke, flooding that river. Heron reports evacuees from the flooded Fort Garry moving progressively up the Assiniboine as the water levels rose daily. The settlers moved with their cattle and furniture.Jackson 1970 p.65 The Hudson’s Bay Company boats were used as rescue boats for stranded residents. There was limited food and it was impossible to fish, so the settlers subsisted on waterfowl. On May 21, a fire broke out in a clergy tent but, fortunately it “soon got under, there being plenty of help and a good supply of water”.Holowachuk 2009 pp. 13-14 It wasn’t until May 23 that the water began to subside, thanks to another ice jam breaking at the estuary where the Red River met Lake Winnipeg.Holowachuk 2009 p.14 The water had peaked about 11 m above its normal level, and only 3 churches and a grist mill survived the inundation. The settlers didn’t re-occupy their land until mid-June and re-sow fields until late June.Green 1974 p 146 All told, 8 Europeans, and a Métis man and 3 children, died.Holowachuk 2009 p.12 Aftermath The flood massively disrupted the Red River settlement. The flooding caused many to lose all they had and therefore abandon the area. Many Canadiens chose to return to Canada. A group of 243 recently-arrived German Swiss chose to depart south, mostly for Mendota, Minnesota.Green 1974 p.147 The Hudson’s Bay Company, which had opposed settlement and wanted growth only “by natural increase of the population,” supported them in their departure. See also 1950 Red River flood References Green Wilson Floyd Red River Revelations Hignell Printing Limited 1974 Winnipeg April 15, 1974 Holowachuk Brock Impact: A History of Disasters in Manitoba Great Plains Publication 2009 Toronto Jackson James A The Centennial History of Manitoba McClelland and Stewart Ltd. 1970 Toronto Category:19th century in Winnipeg Category:Red River floods Category:1820s floods Category:19th-century floods in North America