Vicksburg in Warren County, Mississippi — The American South (East South Central)

The Nation's Most Destructive Flood

Photographed by Mark Hilton, May 25, 2017

1. The Nation's Most Destructive Flood Marker

Inscription. Torrential rains in the fall of 1926 and spring of 1927 set the stage for one of our Nation's worst natural disasters. Levees held back the water until breaks occurred at Mound Landing, MS and Pendleton, AR on April 21, 1927. Bt the time the floodwaters receded in August, more than 16 million acres and 162,000 homes had been flooded, $100 million in crops had been damaged, over 700,000 people had been relocated to refugee camps (like this one on high ground in Vicksburg), thousands of buildings had been destroyed, and several hundred people had died. Over 31,000 heroic volunteers cared for their fellow citizens, rising above prejudices and self-interest to rescue, comfort, and shepherd them home. As a direct result of this disaster, Congress passed the Flood Control Act of 1928 providing federal funding and responsibility for flood protection on the lower Mississippi by the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Mississippi River Commission (MRC). The MRC was relocated from St. Louis to Vicksburg, and the Waterways Experiment Station was created to work with the Corps' Lower Mississippi Valley Division and Vicksburg

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District offices. These efforts established and sustain Vicksburg as the center of expertise for water infrastructure engineering in the Nation.

Sponsored by current and retired members of the US Army Corps of Engineers
and the Mississippi River Commission; their Partners, Friends, and
Citizens of Vicksburg.

Erected 2009 by the City of Vicksburg Riverfront Mural Committee.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Disasters • Waterways & Vessels. A significant historical date for this entry is April 21, 1927.

Location. 32° 21.101′ N, 90° 53.016′ W. Marker is in Vicksburg, Mississippi, in Warren County. It can be reached from Levee Street south of Grove Street. The Vicksburg Riverfront Murals are located on the Yazoo Diversion Canal levee wall. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: Levee Street, Vicksburg MS 39183, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Natchez Trace Corridor

and in Greater Jackson.

It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Deep South,

in the Mississippi Delta,

and in the Great River Road Region.

Globally, it

The Nation's Most Destructive Flood Mural image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mark Hilton, May 25, 2017

2. The Nation's Most Destructive Flood Mural

is in North America,

a Gulf of Mexico state,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: President McKinley Visits the "Land of Cotton" (here, next to this marker); Carr School (here, next to this marker); "The Blues are the Roots, the Rest are the Fruits"-Willie Dixon (a few steps from this marker); The Steamer Sprague (a few steps from this marker); Brothers of the Sacred Heart (a few steps from this marker); "Logging on the River" (within shouting distance of this marker); "The Founding of Vicksburg and Methodism" (within shouting distance of this marker); The Vicksburg Garden Clubs and Planters Hall (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Vicksburg.

Also see . . . Wikipedia article on the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927. (Submitted on June 6, 2017, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.)

Vicksburg, Mississippi waterfront levee wall murals. image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mark Hilton, May 25, 2017

3. Vicksburg, Mississippi waterfront levee wall murals.

Credits. This page was last revised on January 24, 2022. It was originally submitted on June 6, 2017, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. This page has been viewed 417 times since then and 43 times this year. Last updated on January 22, 2022, by Carl Gordon Moore Jr. of North East, Maryland. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on June 6, 2017, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.