Goodnight Raleigh - a look at the art, architecture, history, and people of the city at night

The Easter Blizzard of 1915

N.53.15.4971 From the Albert Barden Collection, State Archives; Raleigh, NC.

N.53.15.4971 From the Albert Barden Collection, State Archives; Raleigh, NC.

Pictured is Morgan Street looking west at its intersection with Boylan Avenue. The large house seen on the left is roughly the same location as present-day Planned Parenthood. The house seen on the right (704 West Morgan Street) is extant, although modified. Likely sometime in the 1950s it gained asbestos siding and lost its porch. Thankfully, its Italianate eave brackets remain to this day.

Page_74

Incredibly, this photograph wasn’t taken in the icy grips of winter—it was taken in spring, Easter Sunday of 1915 to be exact, after a destructive and record breaking weather event that crippled North Carolina and several other states. The front page of the News and Observer read, “Raleigh Flounesed [sic] In Grasp of Its Greatest Blizzard.” It was the deepest snow seen so late in spring and it decimated North Carolina’s electrical and communications infrastructure—toppling telegraph, telephone and power poles. The streetcars halted and the Edison bulbs dimmed as a result of high winds and wet snow falling continuously for over 17 hours. The newly formed Carolina Power and Light was the supplier of the juice and tasked with restoring service. To begin surveying the damage in Raleigh, CP&L sent employees and a photographer (possibly Cyrus P. Wharton or Manly Tyree) out to document the damage and cut live wires. They set out from the central substation at Method Road and headed east on Hillsborough Street, making photographs and surveying the destruction.

The entire series of photographs taken that day can be seen here. This photograph was the last of the series to be identified, being confirmed just last week using the 1914 Sanborn Insurance map and a healthy amount of study. In fact, there is an early historical marker in this photo. Can anyone spot it?


Discuss Raleigh

  • Recent Comments:

    • Sally Blackwell: I want to see if any carhops are still around that caught curb at Johnnys Drive-in grill on Capital...
    • Kelly Perry: I and my neighbor boys from Wake Forest were hired by a sub contractor for DH Griffin demolition company...
    • Sandra: My Great Aunt Sallie & Great Uncle Charlie were married there in 1931. Aunt Sallie’s brother, my Great...
    • Gozando gostoso na madrugada pensando na namorada: I alll the time used too study paragraph in news papesrs buut noow...
    • www.bullettrainmov.com: A sequel, which is planned to serve as the eleventh and last main installment, is scheduled...
    • internet outage: What i don’t understood is in truth how you’re no longer actually much more...
    • Howell Cobb: My father inherited The Hotel Raleigh from his father. He managed the hotel during the late 1940’s...
    • PureLife Keto Gummies: Throwing more euros after Weight Loss is probably not a bad theory as soon as this is a...


  •