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THE FLOOD OF 1927

It had been a wet fall, with October rains running 150 percent of normal. The ground was saturated. Even a storm of average intensity would have caused flooding. But this was no average storm. In the late morning and afternoon of Nov. 3, 1927, all Vermont rainfall records were broken, with up to 10 inches of rain falling in some parts of the state.

David Ludlum's "Vermont Weather Book" says it was as if "a cubic mile of solid water had been lifted from the surface of the Atlantic Ocean and deposited on the hills and valleys of the Green Mountain state." Eighty-four people died, including the lieutenant governor, S. Hollister Jackson. More than 1,000 bridges were destroyed; 10,000 people were left homeless.

"The flood of November 3, 1927, was the greatest disaster in the history of our beautiful state," said Gov. John Weeks.

"Nothing had occurred during the history of the state which had dealt such a staggering blow to the agricultural industries of Vermont," echoed the commissioner of agriculture.

If the only effect of the 1927 flood were the devastation it caused, it would still count as one of the most significant stories of the 20th century. But the flood did more than carve a path of destruction. It changed Vermont in countless ways, including a dramatic change in the relationship between towns and the state, and between the state and the federal government.

The state took responsibility for repairs, a huge step in the expansion of state authority over local government. And although the state professed that it would rebuild without federal assistance, Vermont asked for and received $2.7 million from Congress.

In addition, many washed-out railroad tracks were never replaced, changing the state's economy from railroad to highway. The flood also settled the long-simmering dispute over the paving of the state's roads, spurring on the blacktop. And it set the stage for the construction of major flood control projects in East Barre, Wrightsville and Waterbury.

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