March 7, 1852 On this day in 1852, Sacramento was inundated by its second major flood since the city was founded just over 3 years prior. Several days of heavy rain contributed to the rise in the Sacramento and American Rivers. The levee gave way near the confluence of the two rivers and water quickly swept through the city’s streets near the waterfront. Alarms rang out to notify everyone about the impending flood and people began to move their belongings to higher ground. Because of the alarms, it was reported that no lives were lost. The Sacramento Daily Union newspaper reported the next day that this flood was not as disastrous as the January 1850 flood, but some low spots in the city reached 12 feet deep. On March 10th, Mayor James R. Hardenbergh called for a new levee to be constructed and for it to be built higher than the previous one. Sacramento’s Common Council approved its construction, and the $50,000 project was completed by November 1852, just in time for the levee t...