Weeks of rain in the Midwest raised water levels in the region's rivers. The temporary levee protecting Cairo, Illinois from the Ohio River gave way and the town soon had twelve feet of water in its streets. Lives were lost and Cairo suffered hundreds of thousands of dollars in property damage. (By John Osborne)
Source Citation
The American Almanac and Repository of Useful Knowledge for the Year 1859 (Boston: Crosby, Nichols, and Company, 1859), 370.