Dateline Dayton — In the past I have written about some of the gems in Dayton, and the one for this week is truly unique.

It does not just benefit Dayton or Montgomery County. My essay is about our outstanding dam system and the Miami Conservancy District.

Dayton had a history of flooding, and people just put up with the nuisance. In 1913 came the Big One, twelve feet of water in downtown Dayton. Residents were scrambling to the upper stories of their homes to escape the raging waters.

Thousands were marooned for three days and nights — in the attics and on the roofs of their dwellings. Over 400 lives were lost with $100,000,000 of property wiped out.

Civic leader John Patterson immediately went into action, having his carpenters building boats to rescue those stranded. The National Cash Register garage was pressed into service as the morgue.

Patterson took the lead to do something about the situation so that Dayton could be spared this terrible ordeal in the future. With the help of others, they did something so unique it never had been done before.

After the flood, with great determination, the citizens accepted both their individual and community losses, cleaned up the wreckage and re-established their businesses. Strengthened by the disaster, the Miami Valley emerged from the wreckage with renewed vigor.

Before even the wreckage was swept from the streets, Patterson and others tackled the problem of preventing the recurrence. Acting though several Citizens Relief Committees, funds were raised and engineers were employed to study the problem. Within sixty days of the flood, citizens and businesses in Dayton contributed two million dollars to the flood relief funds.

As the engineers searched for solutions, they realized the problem was so great that it would require the cooperation of the entire valley. To accomplish this end, today what is known as the Miami Conservancy District was formed.

The Conservancy is responsible for the following area dams: Englewood, Germantown, Huffman, Lockington and Taylorsville. Along with the dams, the Miami Valley gained parks and a vast area of green space on which no one is allowed to build.

The dams have paid for themselves many times over.

I wonder why some of the areas, especially along the Mississippi, that are prone to yearly flooding haven’t been able to copy what has been done here in Dayton and the surrounding communities?

Mr. Hennessey may be contacted at pmhenn@sbcglobal.net