Origins of the 1936 Flood
It is widely understood that Friday the 13ths are haunted. Complications are bound to occur on these days, whether or not they are expected. On March 13th, 1936, a Friday, water levels of the Susquehanna River began to rise unexpectedly.
The determined cause of the flood was a domino effect of rain and snowmelt on this late winter day. The mountains and hills in the Susquehanna River valley were saturated with melting snow and ice from a previous heavy snowfall. On this day, heavy rain pounded the mountains, and water quickly accumulated from the combined snowmelt and rains into the Chemung and Chenango tributaries, ultimately leading to the Susquehanna’s water levels quickly increasing in size and intensity (Phillips).
Flooding in Sunbury
That Friday the 13th was just the beginning of the troubles that lay ahead. The Susquehanna River continued to rise in the days that followed. By the evening of March 18th, 1936, the water levels grew so substantially that water began flooding into Sunbury at alarming rates. Water rose a foot and a half every two hours, faster than Sunbury residents could react (Phillips).
In just a mere few hours, over 12,000 residents were impacted (Phillips). Homes dislocated from their foundations, trees tumbled down as their roots tore away from the ground, and sidewalks and streets stripped away like tape. Residents either sought out safety in the upper homes of buildings or evacuated their homes, forced to leave most personal belongings behind. Teams on boats eventually had to rescue those who were stranded (Phillips).
The flooding persisted into the morning of March 19th, 1936. By this time, the flooding reached its estimated peak at a whopping 30.11 feet (Phillips), water climbing to the tops of first floor shop windows (Shikellamy School District). The flood level’s peak endured until late in the afternoon, after which the water levels finally began descending through the morning of March 20th. Even then, it still took days for the floodwaters to completely clear the streets. Within a few days, exposure to flood waters led to measles and scarlet fever outbreaks (The Sunbury Item).
Responses to the Flood and The Aftermath
As the waters died down, residents filtered back into Sunbury. The receded water levels revealed over 4 million dollars worth of damage; businesses, factories, and homes were misshapen and damaged. Windows were shattered, cars parked themselves in backyards, and basements and cellars were swamped with water. Debris littered what was left of the streets and pathways (Shikellamy School District). All of Sunbury was doused in inches of mud (The Sunbury Item).
Despite the loss of livelihoods through this damage, the flood created a uniting force throughout the community. Everyone played their part in alleviating the flood’s stark effects.
The utilization of electricity and the radio both played vital roles in the response and aid provided to Sunbury, something never seen in flood responses in the Susquehanna Valley before. Radio broadcasting by the WKOK station mobilized a support system for Sunbury refugees (Melick & Mull). And, without the help of the Pennsylvania Power and Light Company working tirelessly to keep electricity flowing through the town, the radio station would not have been able to operate (Melick & Mull).
In response to over 100 hours of radio broadcasting efforts, local communities and organizations, the American Red Cross, and the National Guard came to Sunbury’s aid. Refugees were provided with spaces to stay in neighboring towns such as Shamokin Dam and Mount Carmel, while the flooding persisted (Melick & Mull). Upon their return, Sunbury residents were given food, medical supplies, and necessities from both the Red Cross and National Guard in addition to the neighboring towns (Melick & Mull). The nearby “sister” town of Northumberland donated groceries, sent people to deliver messages, and lent equipment to pump water that saturated cellars and basements (Shikellamy School District).
The Civilian Conservation Corps boys (CCC) and Works Progress Administration workers (WPA did a lot of the physical labor of cleaning up Sunbury; they cleaned off the mud from the streets and sidewalks with fire hoses, they used the pumps provided by Northumberland to expel water out of the basements and cellars, and they took the remaining debris and ruined perishable goods to the dump to be burned (Melick & Mull).
By May of 1936, two months after the flood, the town was in better shape; businesses had recovered enough to resume normal activities (Melick & Mull).
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However, some things were permanently lost. Across 14 eastern states, the death toll emassed to 175 lives (Sunbury Item). Not only were physical livelihoods taken away from residents, but also important historical documents that preserved Sunbury’s story in history, as well as a deeper understanding of the town’s heritage and family lineages.
Lost Cemetery Records + Historical Importance
The Sunbury flooding brought immense destruction to the whole town, including City Hall. The City Hall contained important historical documents that were representative of Sunbury’s rich history in the American Revolution and the Civil War, including the records to Penn’s Cemetery, now known as Sunbury Cemetery (Wojciechowski).
The records of the cemetery were kept in the basement of City Hall. By the flooding’s end, numerous basements and cellars across the town were saturated in water and mud until the messes were pumped out. Either the records were destroyed from soaking in the water, or they were washed away.
The city of Sunbury today has only a few blueprints and pre-flood documents left of the cemetery. Alas, the majority of the cemetery’s records held the same fate as the rest of the town’s materials stored below ground. The City Hall itself no longer exists, as it was abandoned after the flood and is a parking lot today. The current City Hall was a Woolworth's department store at the time of the flood.
The digital, searchable map of the Sunbury cemetery on this website works to restore these records that were lost in the 1936 flood, and contributes to a fuller understanding of the rich history of Sunbury.
Works Cited
Conversation with Jeff Wojciechowski, City Clerk's Office, 4/23/2025
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Melick & Mull. (1936). Susquehanna Flood Scenes 1936, Pennsylvania’s Greatest Flood
Disaster in Pictures (1st ed.). (pp 2-5)
Phillips, W. (Ed.). (1936). Susquehanna on the Rampage. Wilkes Barre News Agency.
Shikellamy School District (1989), Rediscovery II, pp 204-205
The Sunbury Item, Death toll of flood mounts to 175; water slowly recedes from sunbury. (1936, March 20), pp. 1–5.