If you were standing right here at about 10 pm July 23, 1912,
you would have seen the signs of the coming disaster that
would be one of the most infamous evenings in the history
of the Wisconsin River.
By the time the swell was visible from this point, the flood had
already swept down the Wisconsin River through Merrill and
Brokaw. And soon it would hit Wausau and other communities
downriver.
Over the next few hours, the raging waters of the river caused
sudden and tremendous damage. Even as courageous men
went out into the squall to do what they could against the
dark storm raging all around them, the river (and the debris
it was collecting along its way) continued to cause havoc as
it went. Most concerning were the thousands of logs pulled
from the sawmill in Brokaw.
In Wausau, a group of men managed to move a number of
train cars full of logs onto the railroad bridge where the extra
weight kept it from washing away in the night. Other bridges
along the river were not so lucky. Most businesses and homes
along the river had some water damage and flooding, ruining
possessions and commercial goods.
But the most explosive moment of the evening was probably
when the floodwaters reached Mr. Paff’s warehouse, where he
was storing a shipment of lime. The resulting chemical
reaction caused the building to catch fire, even as the
rainstorm raged and the waters swept so much away
Aftermath
The following morning, people emerged from their homes to
find the storm had subsided and the sun had come out. The
river was still raging and miraculously the only human death
occurred when a local farmer tried to cross the fast-flowing
stream to deliver a shipment of milk.
Scenes of the damage done over the previous night were well
documented in photos. Adjusted for the number of cameras
at the time, July 24, 1912, was almost certainly the most
photographed day in Wausau’s history.
By the late 20th Century, management of the river volumes
and cooperation of local dam operators had mitigated the
chance of this sort of catastrophic flood happening again.
Vivid memories remained, though, for those who lived
through the destructive floods of the era.
