Postcard images of 1908-09 flooding in Albion, MI

 

I just processed a donation of Albion, MI, postcards. Some were your typical views of streets, major buildings, parks, and bridges.  The postage for postcards was less than a letter required, so they were an affordable option when writing was the main form of communication. Postcards were also popular as a  vacation and travel visual keepsake before most people could afford a family camera in the 1950s. And they were a cheap form of tourism and economic development advertising. By showcasing how lovely a town was with images of its parks or beaches for relaxation, and its quality of life with images of public buildings, schools, and churches, towns and centers of tourism were able to advertise themselves as a good place to live and work or relax, attracting professionals and families and vacationers, all of whom spent money there, contributing economically to a town's growth or survival. The person who bought and mailed and the recipient saw a town's charms and possibilities, but so did everyone who handled and distributed the mail, or later saw the postcard displayed in someone's home.

Postcards of natural disasters, severe weather, train wrecks, and sunken vessels were also popular due to their more sensational nature. A number of the Albion postcards document the Great Flood of 1908 and resulting damage, and additional flooding in 1909. Albion sits at the confluence of the North and South branches of the Kalamazoo River, and some of Albion's early businesses were water-powered mills. The 1908 flood resulted from substantial snow fall, followed by significant rain, which caused the river to overflow. Snow is visible in some of the postcards. Streets, yards, and basements flooded, and a dam broke adding to the disaster. The flood waters damaged or destroyed all but one of the town's bridges, collapsed and significantly damaged a number of commercial buildings, and destroyed goods stored in basements, causing more than $100,000-worth of damages, a significant amount in 1908. For context, the average American worker earned between $3 and $10 a week in 1905 (U.S. Dept. of commerce and Labor, Bureau of the Census, Census of Manufacturers, 1905, Earnings of Wage-Earners).  For more information about the Great Flood of 1908 in Albion see http://www.albionmich.com/history/histor_notebook/R970317.shtml.