Through the Lens: The Aftermath of the 1921 Pueblo Flood
In the days that followed, photographers documented the destruction wrought by the flood. A century later, their images are powerful testimonies to the devastating scale of the catastrophe.
Photographers were among the first to survey the devastation caused by the flood of 1921 in Pueblo and the surrounding area. Their images captured rail lines washed away and tracks irreparably twisted. They documented overturned freight and passenger trains tipped by the force of the floodwaters. Everywhere they pointed their lens, the wreckage was catastrophic.
These images of the flood were compiled in a photo book, which J. Russell, the general manager of the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, offered as a gift to Rio Grande workers. The book is stamped with the name of J.W. Martz, the assistant superintendent of the railway at the time of the flood. Martz later gave it to a Mr. Granger, as indicated by a handwritten note to Granger. The images from the book have recently been digitized, and here we share a few of them.
The captions are the original notations in the book.
Where destruction was greatest, aerial view.
Mo. Pacific Terminal, Nuckolls Plant and Lower Sante Fe bridge from the air.
Street in front of Union Depot at daylight, June 4th.
Track Side of Union Depot. Business Car 5B wrecked.
An uninvited guest.
Walker yard south of “C” Street Viaduct.
Cars and house substituted for north approach of Rio Grande and Sante Fe bridges at Pueblo.
Wreckage on South Union Avenue.
Steel work of Bridge 126B was left undisturbed without rails or ties.
Washout at Brook Ranch east of Swallows. One track gone, the other hanging.
The Main Street at Portland. Note high water mark on buildings.
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