#onthisday in Dartmouth history: the 1938 New England Hurricane brought devastating winds and rain to campus. After making its initial landfall in New York as a Category 3 storm, the system continued northward, reaching the Vermont state border as a Category 1. While it had weakened significantly over the course of a few hours, the hurricane still produced extensive damage. Here on campus, trees in densely wooded areas such as around Occom Pond were either snapped in half or uprooted entirely. Trees also fell on local businesses, homes, and Dartmouth buildings, displacing members of the community. Most notably, the Connecticut River and its tributaries were inundated with 7-10 inches of rain, which precipitated some extreme flooding. In this image from our Photographic Files, Dartmouth students and town residents ventured to an area just outside of campus, where floodwaters had submerged an entire road. The group waded through the water, which had risen high enough to almost conceal a street sign. Believe it or not, this image was taken before the worst of the storm had even arrived in the area. Around 700 lives would perish in The Great Hurricane of 1938, and New England states would collectively accrue almost 5 billion dollars in damage (according to The Boston Globe). #onthisdayinhistory #hurricane #newengland #1938 #vermont #newhampshire #raunerlibrary #rauner #specialcollections #library #dartmouth #dartmouthcollege #archives