The remnants of the railroad bridge destroyed during the 1890 flood that spanned the Salt River and led into Tempe.

Back-to-back floods in 1890 and 1891 were ultimately responsible for the construction of the Roosevelt Dam. In 1890, the flood washed away part of the Tempe railroad bridge and the Walnut Grove Dam.
The spring of 1891 brought three days of heavy rain to the Phoenix area. By the third day, telegraph reports indicated water was 16 feet above the 11-foot Arizona Canal diversion dam some 25 miles east of Phoenix.
The Phoenix Daily Herald reported that at 1 a.m. “…rain poured down harder and hoarser than ever through the blackness of the night, which a pale moon occasionally illumined with a sickly pretense at coal oil imitation.” By 4 a.m. the fire department sounded the alarm and sent riders south of Jackson Street to tell people to get to higher ground. At this point the water going over the dam was 5 feet higher than the 1890 flood.
While it was reported that men were not happy campers about their early morning wake-up call, “…the women folks enjoyed the unusual sensation of a teeth chattering gossip at 4 o’clock in the morning.” It was also reported kids were enjoying the excitement of the day.
During the course of the day, curious sightseers climbed the steps of the tower in the Maricopa County Court House to see the flood. “…Generally the view was unsatisfactory, intervening trees and distance concealed the rushing waves and driving debris that makes the Salt River so terrible at its high and roaring tides.”
The water rose to Jackson Street before it began to recede. People felt the worst was over. The Herald reported “a stagnant swampy odor filled the air last night, reminding one of the far famed Hoboken flats in Jersey or the Florida Everglades. Old tree trunks; old, dank and decaying vegetation; old debris; old carcasses of animals; old bones of murdered white men, perhaps, and quite probably the remains of their Apache slayers were stirred up, shaken about and the accumulated effluvia of years set afloat in the damp, evening atmosphere.”
Suddenly, the next day the rains began again. With no local or long-range weather forecasts, the additional rains were totally unexpected. Reports coming back from the Arizona Dam indicated the water quickly rose to more than 18 feet above the dam. When the wave arrived in Phoenix, the water quickly rose to cover Washington Street, but started to subside after three hours.
Communication with other areas was cut off entirely by the floods. Trains could not run because of the destroyed tracks and bridges. People were driven out of their homes by the high water. Machines, materials, products, and livestock were destroyed by the raging torrents.
The Herald reported on the constant eerie sound of adobe buildings collapsing as the water undermined their foundations and melted the adobe bricks. While there were some lives lost due to the floods, most of the damage was to property.
Some residents saw bright spots within the storm. Gamblers closed their games and the saloons to provide labor and support to the community. Gamblers also made substantial donations for various flood relief funds that were established in Phoenix to serve those that had lost their homes and belongings.
Other residents believed that the floods killed many roving dogs and cats south of town. “…Cats…were becoming noisy, it being for them bright spring time when youthful fancy turns, etc., are believed to have perished. At all events they didn’t bawl last night.”
And some on the south side of Phoenix felt all the destruction would turn out to be a good thing. One person commented: “Oh, we poor folks will have lots of work now.” Clearly, some rain clouds do have silver linings.
— Mike Miller. Photo courtesy of the United States Geological Survey.