Flood of 1949

Introduction

​Introduction | Cloudburst on Shenandoah Mountain | Stokesville is Gone! | The Cramer Family | The Michael and Emmett Families
Strothertown | The 4-H Campers and Girl Scouts | Harry Jopson's Story | After the Flood

The June 1949 cloudburst over the Reddish Knob area was a significant event in the history of Shenandoah Mountain.  The little town of Stokesville was wiped out, and Bridgewater experienced a historic flood, as did farms and homes along the North River.   The families who were affected have stories that they have passed down to their children and grandchildren.  After the flood, dikes and reservoirs were constructed to prevent another devastating flood of this magnitude. 

​Lynn Cameron, Co-Chair of Friends of Shenandoah Mountain, Caroline Whitlow, a JMU Social Work major, and Nancy Sorrells, Augusta County Historical Society, have researched the flood and interviewed survivors.  The result is a series of stories that will promote understanding of what actually happened on Shenandoah Mountain and in the Stokesville area.

• Cloudburst on Shenandoah Mountain
• Stokesville is Gone!
• The Cramer Family
• The Michael and Emmett Families
• Strothertown:  Small Black Settlement Destroyed
• The 4-H Campers and Girl Scouts
• Harry Jopson's Story
• After the Flood:  Flood Prevention

We are grateful to Bridgewater College Special Collection, James Madison University Libraries, the Augusta County Historical Society, the Bridgewater Historical Society, and the George Washington National Forest North River Ranger District for their assistance and use of their photographs and other resources.  We are especially grateful to all the flood survivors and their decendents who shared their stories and their photographs:  Alan Cramer, Gay Michael Emmett, Dorwon Emmett, Lee Beam, Mike and Bootsie Twitchell, Jean Wilkins, Garnet Strother, Barbara Randolph Wagner Leslie Bulken, and the late Harry (Doc) Jopson.