Clinton History

The Floods

All pictures can be clicked to view a larger image

The 1920 flood near the Boat Club on 4th Ave. So.

The flood of 1965 was a full 4 feet higher than any other known flood in the area. Here in south Clinton is a view of how the whole town would have been without a dike!!!

In 1965, the ballpark was just outside the line of the dike,
which ran along the railroad tracks. Many of Clinton's landmarks like this were built by the WPA in the Depression.

An aerial view of the riverfront in '65.

The flood would have destroyed most of the town had we not done the "impossible" and built a dike.

Downtown, the store owners put up little dikes,

This flood shot shows how the main dike is bolstered by smaller ones.
Hydrostatic pressure produced many "boils," even miles away from the river, and several years after the flood.

Pumping the river "back into the river" during the '65 flood at the Water Works and 6th Ave. So. The building at the left is the Haring Bldg., which was a riverboat and sawmill warehouse.

"Ft. Johannsen" was named after a reserve officer, Stanley Johannsen, who manned the sewer pump station with his men during the flood of '65. The town would have been flooded through the sewers without this heroic act! Inside "Ft. Johannsen" you can see the reinforcements, which protected the building and men from the raging river!!!!

Fort Johannsen manages to stay dry in the raging river of the 1965 flood. This is the sewer pump station, which had to be held at all costs!

In 1965, the kids filled sandbags from sunup to sundown
for three weeks and were rewarded with the Erickson Center,
which was built in their honor.

Many of Gary's photos are from his slide presentation. If you would like more information regarding the original photo, please email Gary at herrity2@cis.net . He would also welcome your questions, comments or suggestions.

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