The 1937 Flood: A Personal Story

The people who lived in this house at 632 Third Street in Dayton, Kentucky were no strangers to flooding. The Benner family had lived close to the Ohio River all their lives. As the waters crept closer and closer to their home, they moved all their furniture, except for the piano, to the second floor of the house. Before leaving, Elizabeth Benner, the matriarch of the family, put a statue of the Blessed Virgin at the top of the stairs and said to the statue, “Don’t let the water get up here.” The family went back to reclaim their home when the waters receded to find their belongings in tact.