05/15/2025
The worst flood in the history of Pueblo, and one of the worst in Colorado history, struck between June 3rd and 5th, 1921. The flood caused more than $25 million in damage, leading the entire town to be reshaped in its aftermath.
Most of the damage occurred on the second day, when both the Arkansas River and Fountain Creek overran their banks. A local lumberyard caught fire, sending burning lumber down flooded city streets. The high-water mark on the Union Depot, at Victoria and “B” Streets, was nearly ten feet. The Western National Bank at Main and Second Streets was more than thirteen feet underwater 🌊
All told, the flood had inundated 300 square miles. More than 500 houses were carried away, along with 98 businesses or industrial buildings, 61 stores, 46 locomotives, and 1,274 railroad cars. After the water receded and the fire went out, Puebloans had to deal with all the mud left behind.
To this date there is no universally accepted death toll for the 1921 flood.
Learn more about this devastating event at: https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/1921-pueblo-flood
--
Photo by Theo Anderson, 1921.
History Colorado 85.313.6
