Page 89 - A Flood of Memories
P. 89
Franklin: Miami and Lake avenues
TODAY
Left: The L.G. Anderson house at 49 Miami Avenue, at the northwest corner of Lake Avenue, was one of more than 40 houses in Franklin’s prestigious neighborhood on the west side of the river in the late 1800s. The area added more modest homes in the 1900s and became known as the Mackinaw Addition. Many of the 19th century homes were ooded by the Great Miami River during the 1913 ood.
A second stream, equally destructive as the main river channel, began at a bend in the river at Chautauqua and swept around the west (back) of the Mackinaw Addition. Floodwater was several feet deep in some streets, with residents taking to canoes. That current tore 13 houses from their foundations and wrecked another nine houses.
Upper Right: Like many historical homes in Franklin, the L.G. Anderson house has been maintained and continues to display an elegant architecture. The house was built in the Italian Villa style sometime between 1857 and 1867.
Lower Right: Today, Miami Conservancy District levees and this oodwall protect the Mackinaw Addition and other neighborhoods in Franklin. The levee is along Miami Avenue looking north. The Anderson house across the street continues to stand watch over the river.
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