The Minnesota River has benefited the city of Mankato over the years. In the early years, it was used as a road to transport people and supplies from St. Paul and Minneapolis to the new town. Settlers heading further down the river stopped in Mankato to visit and brought an additional economic boon to the town.
However, the Minnesota River also brought many problems to the young town. Though Parsons Johnson and Henry Jackson chose higher ground for their town, the Minnesota River still overran it banks and flooded Mankato. The first recorded flooding was in 1881, after a winter of heavy snow. North Mankato, located just across the river from Mankato was not gravely affected, mostly because there were few settlers at that time.
In 1908, North Mankato built up Webster Avenue as a dike. This dike was strengthened every few years and withstood the flood waters of 1929. The Works Progress Administration crews, organized during the Great Depression furthered strengthened the Webster Avenue dike in 1936 and it held back the flood waters of 1944.
Mankato's luck ran out in 1951, when the Blue Earth
and Minnesota Rivers crested at the same time. Water poured over the dikes and
flooded North Mankato and parts of Mankato. The citizens of Mankato opened
their homes as North Mankato was evacuated. Property damage ran into the
millions, but no lives were lost. One year later, the rivers crested even
higher than before, but stronger, higher dikes held the flood waters
back.
City officials asked Washington D.C. for further help. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers studied the Minnesota River. Their plans were not carried out when President Dwight D. Eisenhower vetoed the flood-control bill that included the funds for the project. Although Congress did pass a similar bill in 1958, nothing had been done by 1965.
In 1965, another flood surged through the valley. It started with the worst blizzard since 1940. Beginning on March 16, 1965, the blizzard dumped 59.6 inches on the Mankato area. Drifts from 10 to 25 feet were common in the area. As temperatures rose, the snow melted. The crest was predicted at 23 feet. The dikes, built after the 1951 flood, were built to contain 26.2 feet of river. As the snow melted, Windom, Jackson, and Blue Earth flooded as tributaries overran their banks. Giant ice jams began to form upriver from Mankato. On April 7, a crest of 26.5 feet was predicted for Saturday, April 10.
Civil Defense Flood Control Headquarters asked for
volunteer help. Trucks of every size hauled sand in from any available spot to
the waterfront area. Volunteers then erected the "Great Wall of China" in North
Mankato. Three thousand feet long, this dike was raised to a height of six feet
in 36 hours. At times, as many as 2,000 volunteers were stacking sandbags. In
North Mankato alone 1,000,000 sandbags were used. The residents of North
Mankato were ordered to evacuate in case the makeshift dikes did not hold. Most
of the evacuees were welcomed into private homes, although the American Red
Cross, the Salvation Army and many other service agencies provided food and
accommodations for both the evacuees and the many volunteers.
The dikes in North Mankato did hold and North Mankato
was spared. Mankato was not as
lucky. The
Blue Earth River reached record heights that spring and its water poured into
Sibley Park, and continued up Mound Avenue and into the Minnesota and Poplar
Streets area. Madsen's (now Randall's) supermarket was under four feet of
water. Mankato High School (now Mankato West High School) was flooded. Homes
were swept away, basements caved in and businesses lost entire inventories,
equipment , and buildings. The damage was estimated at $5.5 million.
Thankfully, the water did not reach the main downtown area.
This damaging flood brought action from the Corps of Engineers. The Corps first suggested building a dam to keep the waters back and assure smaller crests. However, the extra water would have backed up tributaries flooding the smaller surrounding communities. This first plan was vetoed after an uproar from farmers, townspeople, civic leaders, and public officials. The Corps again examined the problem and proposed a system of earthen dikes and concrete walls along with a new bridge between the two cities. This plan was approved and construction was begun. The old Main Street bridge had to be removed because it was a possible obstacle to the flow of ice and debris. The project was completed and the new bridge was opened to the public in 1987. The bridge was later dedicated as Veteran Memorial Bridge.
Hopefully, the flood of 1965 will be the Last Great
Flood. The new protections should contain the highest flood that might occur
according to the engineers. Mankato and North Mankato no longer need to fear
flooding. Although some areas of Sibley Park (at left, the high water mark for
June of 1993) are occasionally under water, homes and lives are no longer
threatened by the rising waters.
Learn more about Bridges in Mankato
