1881 flood

 This is a copy of events from the flood of 1881 written first hand by a member of the community. It was given to our Pastor by Lynn Handy for sharing the then flood, and is copied verbatim.

The article will be done as an eight part series, starting with April 4^th and continuing with the last report of April 27.^th

Flood of 1881

On April 4, 1881, this note appeared in the News: The River At This Point has been steadily but slowly rising for the past 24 hours. The ice is running today very heavy but as it is light mush ice the boats manage to cross without a great deal of trouble.

Then the News notes grew more ominous:

April 7—The river at this point in the last 24 hours has risen two and one-half inches and is slowly coming up. Over 100 men and boys were along the banks catching drift wood . . . People on the east banks moved to the bluffs. . . The operator at East Nebraska City received a dispatch saying a six –foot rise was reported in Sioux City . . . The worst is to come was the opinion of Captain Furay, government engineer, who described a 50 mile- gorge near Yankton.

April 8,-- The bottoms on both sides of the river were under water. . .The river stood at 19 feet six inches above low water mark. . .. The steamer C.K. Peck, which had departed for Fort Benton, was unreported. . Farms owned by Daniel Gregg on the west side were being fast washed away.