Flood of 1927

Jane Dearing Dennis · Message Board Moderator

RE: Flood of 1927

Date: Apr 25, 2006

Thanks to my aunt, Elizabeth King Carruth Hansen, for contributing the additional information above. The story (above) refers above to my grandparents, Katie Thompson King and Ellis G. King. [Aunt Libby: Glad you're visiting the web site ... I look forward to your future contributions!] -- Jane Dearing Dennis

-- Edited by Jane Dearing Dennis at 12:06, 2006-04-25

-- Edited by Jane Dearing Dennis at 23:47, 2006-04-27

-- Edited by Jane Dearing Dennis at 23:48, 2006-04-27

Date: Apr 24, 2006

Jane, The 1927 flood was the reason you were born in Holly Grove.

Nanny and Granddaddy walked across the levee in Clarendon, at a spot already seeping water four hours before it broke. They then drove to Marvell to live with Grandmother Elizabeth Thompson.

In August, they moved to Holly Grove and Daddy went to work for Mr.(later Col.) J. B. Jacobs, managing the Holly Grove Motor Company. He worked for Col. Jacobs until after World War 11, when he bought the business from Col. Jacobs and renamed it King Motor Company. Fifty years later, August 27 (?) 1977, Daddy retired and begin to go fishing, hunting and gardening. He could grow more on a backyard garden spot than most people in an acre. Daddy died as you know on February 25 at 12:15 a.m., after battling cancer for six years.

Jane Dearing Dennis · Message Board Moderator

Here is an account of the flood recorded in a handwritten note by my grandmother, Katie Thompson King. She and my grandfather, Ellis Graydon King, were newlyweds who had married in June 1926. She was 22 years old when the great flood of 1927 occurred.

"We were living in Clarendon, Arkansas, when the 1927 flood came in April. The levee at Clarendon broke in 52 places. Water was to the top of the doors in our house. We stayed with Mama at Marvell. Ellis went back to work three weeks after the levees broke. I was away five weeks. Paper had to be torn off walls of the houses and all the walls were whitewashed for health reasons. Mud had to be scraped from floors. When we went back to Clarendon, everybody had to take typhoid shots. Unless you had been there during that time, you can't imagine how terrible it was." -- Katie Thompson King

Danyelle McNeill Fletcher · Member

I found the following information in the Fall, 2002 issue of the Tri-County Genealogical journal. The journal is edited by Jo Claire English.

Monroe County Citizen
Thurs. March 12, 1927
Holly Grove Gleanings
"Holly Grove had 2,012 refugees from the high water [editor's note -
1927 Flood]. Our Red Cross president, Mrs. R.A. Abramson, carried a
book and registered 2,012 and we feel there were more whom she failed
to get. There are still tents, box cars, and people being cared for
in homes here. Holly Grove is certainly doing her part in the good
work, and we wish to thank all those who have helped in any way."

Further down....
"Quite a lot of people in our city on account of the overflow in the
low lands."
"Quite a number, in fact, practically all of our citizens are taking
the treatment to prevent typhoid fever."

Danyelle McNeill Fletcher · Member

Here is a link to some 1927 flood information on the Clarendon town website

http://www.clarendon-ar.com/been/flood/index.html

Danyelle McNeill Fletcher · Member

I've got a few photos of my grandparents and the family house during the flood. The picture of the house shows water level with the top of the front porch. The picture is featured in the 1985 Holly Grove calendar. I'll try to post a few of those photos.

Jane Dearing Dennis · Message Board Moderator

How did the 1927 flood at Clarendon affect Holly Grove? It would be interesting to hear various personal and family accounts.

Here's a short excerpt from "A Few Events and Occurrences in the History of Brinkley, Arkansas, and Surrounding Towns and Communities of the Central Delta Through 1935," compiled by Henry A. Wilks, 1997, that mentions Holly Grove:

The levee at Clarendon broke during the morning of April 20, 1927. The town was flooded in minutes and remained that way for several weeks.

Holly Grove was on a ridge 2 1/2 miles from the White River bottoms. On April 19, water began to come over the Missouri Pacific tracks north Duncan, and the next day the entire track from Holly Grove to Clarendon was under water. The water filled the valley west and east of Holly Grove, rising 5 feet in 24 hours.