The Town of Big Flats is a suburban community east of Corning and west of Elmira in Chemung County. In the flooding of 1972, a small earthen dam nearby gave way, causing 6,000 people to evacuate.
The Big Flats Historical Society first elected its officers in March of 1971, and spent the next year preparing for the town's sesquicentennial in 1972.
150 Years, Big Flats, New York, 1822-1972, Sesquicentennial Edition, page 87. Courtesy of the Big Flats Historical Society.
This publication by the local historical society for the town's 150th birthday dedicated a page to previous floods in the region. It makes note of the 1946 flood being the "worst flood in Big Flats history."
This booklet was printed in May or early June of 1972.
April 1974 Big Flats Historical Society Newsletter. Courtesy of the Big Flats Historical Society.
The new historical society had printed newsletters in April of 1972 and early June of 1972, excitedly sharing their plans to celebrate the town's sesquicentennial. The historical society had just received several grants and had printed hundreds of cookbooks and history books (see above) as fundraisers.
This issue from April of 1974 describes what happened in June of 1972. All but 400 of the history books were lost to the flood, in addition to all of the original material used to write the history books. Most of the cookbooks were destroyed.
"Practically everything including many of the town's historical papers and artifcats that had been donated were washed away."
Flood of 1972 Interview with G. Peter Lederer. Courtesy of the South Central Regional Library Council.
Dr. G. Peter Lederer of Big Flats describes the flooding of June 1972 and how it impacted him, his brother, and his father. Coincidentally, his brother was getting married in Maine that weekend, so the family wasn't in Big Flats for the flooding.
His father was a doctor who worked out of their house, which was completely flooded. Peter mentions that there was tremendous goodwill following the flood, as neighbors helped neighbors. Strangers came and helped clean out his father's medical office so that he could get back on his feet.
Peter also describes the change to the town. He mentions there was a mall on the outskirts of town that hadn't been prospering, but after the flood, it became the only place to buy anything (because it hadn't flooded).
He notes that his father was stubborn about staying in the same house, despite multiple major floods (1946 and 1972).
Wyldwyn Farm on Carpenter Road in Big Flats. Courtesy of the Elmira Star-Gazette.
The shaded line on the side of the barn, running through the letters for WYLDWYN FARM, show the high-water mark. The car in front of the barn had been inside the barn before the flood, and of course, the smaller building was formerly upright.