American Red Cross, McCracken County Chapter
Paducah, McCracken County, Kentucky
Marker Inscription
American Red Cross. McCracken County Chapter chartered May 14, 1917. Organized by Mrs. A. R. Meyers, with W. F. Paxton as first chairman. Initial WWI fund drive raised $42,000. During great Ohio Valley Flood of 1937 carried on an amazing evacuation and relief program. World War II fund campaigns raised $164,530. Serving McCracken County for over fifty years. Marker in memory of Mr. and Mrs. D. E. Wilson, Sr. (Reverse) Red Cross Serves McCracken CountyFlood - 1929 - $3,021 Drought - 1929-31 - $12,851 Flood - 1936 - $812 Flood - 1937 - $1,189,141 Tornado - 1938 - $2,061 Flood - 1939 - $751 Fire - 1939 - $979 Flood - 1945 - $865 Flood - 1963 - $4,590 Presented by Tom Wilson
Erected by Kentucky Historical Society
The Story
Chartered in 1917, the McCracken County chapter of the American Red Cross was born of World War I, raising $42,000 in its first war drive. But its defining hour came in the great Ohio Valley Flood of 1937, when it mounted an enormous evacuation and relief effort—spending over $1.1 million in a single disaster. Through two world wars, droughts, tornadoes, and fires, it served the county for more than fifty years.
Why it matters
The chapter's ledger of floods, wars, and disasters is a record of how ordinary American communities organized to survive catastrophe in the early twentieth century.
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Related people
- · Mrs. A. R. Meyers
- · W. F. Paxton
Related events
- · Ohio Valley Flood of 1937
Themes & tags
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