The Great Flood of 1951 in Kansas and Missouri was the costliest catastrophe of its kind in local area history. Damage in property was estimated at a billion dollars or more, at 1951 financial levels. More than 40 lives were lost leading up to and following "Black Friday," July 13, 1951.
Surprisingly, not one life was lost in Lawrence and the immediate area. Loss estimates here ranged all the way from $4 million to $6 million but such figures could not begin to relate the anxiety, concern and fear experienced by thousands here. Story after story chronicled the courageous and imaginative rescue and relief work. The U.S. Navy, Air Force and Army all provided tremendous local help, particularly in the mid-July span. More unselfish efforts by thousands of residents created classic tales of good neighborliness and community outreach.
Shocking, sad and demanding as the disaster was here, its impact was somewhat softened for some with the knowledge that residents of other communities Ottawa, Manhattan, Topeka, Marion, Florence, the Kansas City area suffered even heavier losses and human tragedies. For all that, those in North Lawrence who lost so much in the way of homes and belongings found it difficult to see the brighter side to the tragic picture for some time.
When the floodwaters receded, slimy, smelly muck (it was summer, remember) was everywhere. Nearly every remaining house and building in North Lawrence had a thick layer of slime on the floor, in some places more than two feet deep. Houses, outbuildings and other structures were ripped apart or washed away, livestock and pets were drowned or missing and sodden furniture simply fell apart at the touch.
The cleanup, however, was amazingly rapid even though the scars would remain for years and official "high water marks" can still be found in the region. The estimated 2,000 residents who had been evacuated immediately re-entered the stricken district and started shoveling and cleaning. Just getting water to drink was a stern test, let alone having other amenities. Lawrence businesses quickly formed a nonprofit corporation which benefited from aid by the Army Corps of Engineers. Hundreds of people, trucks and heavy equipment were needed to clear away the debris, rebuild the streets and sewers, restore utilities and repair smashed dikes.
The peak Kansas (Kaw) River reading at the Bowersock Dam in Lawrence was some 3.5 feet above the crest of the fabled 1903 flood. That infamous level had been listed at 27 feet. Flood stage at the dam was 18 feet, the same as today.
Record-breaking rainfall began throughout the Kaw River tributary basin in mid-June and pushed tremendous floodwaters through the eastern end of Kansas. In Lawrence, 16.52 inches of rain were measured between June 20 and July 13. That figure alone was almost half a full year's total here. Similar rainfalls upstream had nowhere to go.
It sometimes is overlooked that the Lawrence community actually had to cope with two floods in less than a month in 1951. On June 23, the Kaw level reached 25.6 feet at the Lawrence dam, the highest it had been since 1903. Thousands of volunteer dike workers prevented serious damage from that onslaught. But tens of thousands could not have stopped the overwhelming deluge which came three weeks later, when "just about everything broke," currents raged and one heroic act after another prevented loss of life, if not heartbreak for many.
Since that time, such flood control facilities as Milford Lake, Tuttle Creek Lake, Perry Lake and Clinton Lake have been completed to deal with the perils and capricious activities by Kaw tributary streams such as the Delaware and Wakarusa rivers. On many occasions, what would have been substantial flooding in the 1940s and 1950s have been thwarted by these reservoirs.
The general feeling that "Black Friday" could not happen again is disputed by some experts, who add that "at the right time and in the right places, nature can do anything it chooses." But the general consensus is that there is little likelihood the Kansas River Basin will ever again face the raging torrents that hit so hard in 1951.
Bill Mayer, now a contributing editor, had been with the Journal-World one year when the Flood of 1951 struck. He was covering news and sports at the time, and worked on the story with other staff members, including Dolph Simons Jr.
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