BlockWhitcomb, Indiana
13 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1915 and the latest in 1986. It stands in Brookville Township. It lies in ZIP code area 47012. The Survey maps it on the Whitcomb quadrangle. It stands 997 feet above sea level.
Topographic sheets covering this place
6 surveys from 13 printed sheetsMatched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.
- 1915 USGS Harrison quadrangle1:48000
- 1953 USGS Cincinnati quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1955 USGS Mount Carmel quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1957 USGS Cincinnati quadrangle1:250000
- 1974 USGS Whitcomb quadrangle1:24000, 3 printings
- 1986 USGS Cincinnati quadrangle1:100000, 3 printings
What happened here
An account from the chapter on Brookville township. The inset identifies its exact source book and publication year.
Great Flood Of March 25, I913
The flood of March 25, 1913, was the greatest in volume of water, destruction of property and loss of life, of any that has ever visited this part of the White Water valley. Hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of property was destroyed and fifteen lives lost. Six hundred people in Brookville were rendered homeless and scores of dwellings swept away and torn to pieces.
In the county-history sources
16,177 words on this townshipHistory of Franklin County, Indiana : Her People, Industries and Institutions, published 1915 names this settlement in its chapter on Brookville Township. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.
Steam whistles blew witli a very alarmiiifj sound. The citizens were soon out to sec what was wroni:; at the river. The mad waters of the East fork were raging in fearful Inrrcnts in tlic valley section of the town. Fifty families were ohli,t,a*d to abandon their homes and seek safety on higher lands among their friends. Rescues were effected by means of l>oats, wagons, buggies and on horseback. The only available lights were those from flickering lanterns, from one in the morning till daylight. The west end of Whitcomb bridge was weakened, letting it down to the water's edge. The next day many came as sight-seercrs from the surrounding country. The Brookville canning factory was destroyed by this flood. The Standard Oil Company's tanks were floated from off their foundations and swept some distance. The public schools were dismissed, on account of the great excitement and disorder in the town - all wanting to see the flooded districts. There were two men drowned, Philip Schuh and Bert Osgood.
Passage source: History of Franklin County, Indiana : Her People, Industries and Institutions, published 1915.
Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.
Mines and quarries near this place
1 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 1 working within 5 miles of Whitcomb: 1 producer. All of them still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Franklin County Highway Dept. | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer |
Storms near this place
5 since 2020Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Whitcomb in 5 storm reports between 2020 and 2024: 3 tornado, 1 thunderstorm wind, 1 flash flood. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 2023 | Tornado (EF0) | Whitcomb | $70,000 | The tornado first touched down in the vicinity of Palawana Circle and Deer Ridge Road where some minor garden and tree branch damage was noted. From there, the tornado continued east, causing some minor roof and siding damage to several homes between Garr Hill and Deer Ridge Roads. Additionally, numerous trees were damaged and/or uprooted. At one residence, a back yard barn was completely destroyed and a house garage had partial wall and roof collapse. The tornado then continued east, causing minor tree damage along Pea Ridge Road. After crossing State Route 101, more significant tree damage occurred in a forested area just to the south of Pea Ridge Road. The tornado then crossed several fields before lifting along Liberty Pike, where minor tree damage was noted. |
| June 2021 | Flash Flood | Whitcomb | $50,000 | Several roads were closed across the northeast part of Franklin County due to flash flooding, including Liberty Pike and Whitcomb Road, Kunkel Road north of Whitcomb Road and Farm Hill Road between Mud Road and Liberty Pike. An old bridge from the early 1900s was washed out. |
| July 2024 | Tornado (EF0) | Whitcomb | $10,000 | The tornado began along a wooded area west of Holland Road and south of Oxford Pike. Drone footage revealed broken branches and convergent swirls within crops along the wooded area. The tornado continued northeast, remaining west of Holland Road. A property near the intersection of Holland Road and Oxford Pike received minor damage. An outbuilding sustained roof panel loss and the residence had minor roof damage along with blown out windows. Tree damage observed around the property was also convergent. The damage to and around the property suggested estimated peak winds|around 75 mph. The tornado entered an open field north of Oxford Pike, where tornadic swirls were evident within the crops. This was the final evidence of the tornado and it is believed to have quickly dissipated north of Oxford Pike. |
| May 2024 | Tornado (EF1) | Whitcomb | $5,000 | The tornado started just to the east of Brookville Lake, in a field just west of the Hickory Woods Campground. Tornadic damage was first observed at the Hickory Woods Campground where numerous trees were blown over, snapped or uprooted. Numerous camping units and manufactured homes were also overturned or damaged. On the other side of State Road 101, two outbuildings were destroyed and additional tree damage occurred.||The tornado briefly moved to the northeast and produced damage along Whitcomb Road. One outbuilding was destroyed and a few trees were snapped or blown over. The tornado then moved southeast where the next area of visible damage was along Liberty Pike, Oxford Pike and Urban Road. One two story single family home on Oxford Pike had its roof completely lifted off and there was also visible exterior wall collapse on the second story of one side of the home. Winds here were estimated to be up to 110 mph, representing high-end EF-1 damage. ||Once the tornado moved to Springfield Road, it appeared to have weakened. Minor tree damage was observed on Springfield Road and damage to a barn was seen on Raymond Road. The tornado then moved into Butler County, Ohio, at 2008EST, about 5 miles south-southwest of Oxford, and ended shortly thereafter at 2009EST. |
| April 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Whitcomb | $4,000 | Large trees were knocked down along Holland Road. |
Nearest settlements
The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.
| Map | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Palestine | 2.2 miles | 13 | |
| Brookville | 4.4 miles | 10 | |
| Mount Carmel | 4.4 miles | 12 | |
| New Fairfield | 4.5 miles | 17 | |
| Stavetown | 4.7 miles | 10 | |
| Old Bath | 4.8 miles | 17 | |
| Raymond | 4.9 miles | 12 | |
| Mound Haven | 5.0 miles | 13 |
Elsewhere
Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.
| Wikipedia article on Whitcomb | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q7994221 | The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0). |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 445916. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.