Davenport and the Flood of 1965
Scope and Contents
This collection consists of thirty color slides produced by Blackhawk Films depicting the April 1965 flood of the Mississippi River in Davenport, Iowa.
Dates
- Creation: 1965
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
Materials are available for use in the Richardson-Sloane Special Collections Center only.
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Biographical / Historical
Heavy rain fell across much of the northern Mississippi River region in early to mid April. With the ground still being frozen, the rain and melted snow had nowhere to go except for nearby rivers. Many record crests that were set in 1965 still stand to this day.
On Wednesday, April 14, 1965, the Times-Democrat newspaper (Davenport, Iowa) reported the coming of a flood and approximately 2,000 homes in the Quad City area were evacuated. That same day, 28 train cars loaded with sand from Muscatine arrived in Davenport to help with the flooding at the foot of Harrison Street. The next day the river exceeded 15 feet in Davenport and went above flood stage at noon. In Minnesota, the state braced for crests to reach 27 feet.
Area newspapers began providing round the clock coverage of the flooding to keep people informed of the rising waters. While newspapers were providing coverage, local police went on 12 hour shifts to deal with the flooding issues.
A week later, on April 22nd, the flood crest in Davenport reached 21.5 feet. By April 25th, flooding had driven about 14,000 people from their homes, killed fourteen people, and caused about 125 million dollars of damage. On Wednesday April 28th, the levees in both Quincy, Illinois and Davenport, Iowa gave way after being pounded by flood waters.
(Source: http://www.weather.gov/dvn/04011965_springflood
accessed 07March2016)
Extent
30 Photographic Slides (in 1 folder.)
Language of Materials
English
Arrangement
Chronologically as labeled by producers.
Physical Location
Range 44 Section 2 Slide Box 1 Folder 1
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift
Physical Description
excellent
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Richardson-Sloane Special Collections Center Repository
321 Main Street
Davenport IA 52801-1490 United States
specialcollections@davenportlibrary.com