Smithville in Clay County, Missouri — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)
Flood of 1965 High Water Mark
Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., October 13, 2025
1. Flood of 1965 High Water Mark
[Title is text]
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Disasters • Settlements & Settlers • Waterways & Vessels. A significant historical year for this entry is 1965.
Location. 39° 23.239′ N, 94° 34.858′ W. Marker is in Smithville, Missouri, in Clay County. It is on Bridge Street north of Main Street, on the left when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 104 North Bridge Street, Smithville MO 64089, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in the Missouri River Corridor and in Greater Kansas City. It is also in the American Midwest, in the Lewis & Clark Corridor, and in the Corn Belt. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture, the Louisiana Purchase, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: War Memorial (a few steps from this marker); Sesquicentennial Celebration Time Capsule (a few
this page online
More about this marker. Blue flood line on side wall of building.
Regarding Flood of 1965 High Water Mark. From The Rocky Mountain News (Daily), v.107, no.91, 22 July 1965, p.6:
Devastation Bared As Flood Moves On
SMITHVILLE, Mo., July 21(AP)The roof of a house lay on a bridge alongside a pressure cooker; a bread truck was on its back like a dead insect; two houses blocked a main street intersection; mud was deep on the street, in stores and homes, like a thick, gooey carpet.
That was Smithville, Mo., Wednesday as floodwaters moved downstream. Left bare was the awesome devastation caused and hidden by more than 15 feet of water in the town of 1200 Tuesday.
The receding waters yielded two more victims, would-be rescuers who disappeared after helping people trapped in a car Monday night near Holden. The deaths brought the known total to seven in Northwest and West-Central Missouri.
Eventually the water from all the flooded riversthe Platte and the Little Platte, the Blackwater, the Fishing, the Crooked, the 102, ana the Blueflows into the Missouri, which had a 7-foot overflow at Lexington and an 8-foot overflow at Waverly.
The Weather Bureau warned that an overflow of the same magnitude is expected Thursday morning at Miami, Mo., and that the crest would produce stages ranging 3 to 6 feet above bankfull down to the mouth in the next one to four days.
Estimates of the damage in Platte County, where Smithville is located [town is in Clay County], ranged up to $25 million.
Credits. This page was last revised on October 26, 2025. It was originally submitted on October 26, 2025, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio. This page has been viewed 97 times since then and 63 times this year. Photo 1. submitted on October 26, 2025, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio.
