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The Floods
The
history of Soldiers Grove is filled with stories of Kickapoo River floods.
Nothing describes the battle with the river better than the U.S. Department of
Energy’s 1994 report, “Rebuilding for the Future…A Guide to Sustainable
Redevelopment for Disaster-Affected Communities.”
“The river hit the town with
its first major flood in 1907. It dumped record amounts of water into the
community again in 1912, 1917, and 1935. The 1935 flood made it clear to the
villagers that flooding was a serious and permanent problem. In 1937, Soldiers
Grove joined other Kickapoo communities in petitioning Congress for a flood
control project.
It was not until 1962 that
Congress approved a flood control plan for the Kickapoo River Valley—a dam and
recreational lake near the top of the river, and a supplemental levee at
Soldiers Grove, all to be built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Construction of the dam and design work on the levee began in the late 1960s.
In the three decades that
Soldiers Grove waited for dam construction to begin, the Kickapoo delivered four
more floods, including a disastrous inundation in 1951 which severely damaged
downtown buildings and its economic foundation as well.
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In 1974, the State of
Wisconsin required Soldiers Grove to pass a floodplain zoning ordinance, a law
that villagers felt would do more damage to property than the river itself. The
law prohibited any new building in the business district and placed strict
limitations on maintenance and repairs to existing buildings. The ordinance was
a severe blow to the economic heart of the community.
The Corps of Engineers
presented its final plan for a levee in early 1975. The villagers had hoped
that the levee would solve both the flooding problem and the need to comply with
floodplain zoning. But when the engineers unveiled the details of the proposed
levee, their message was depressing. The levee would cost some $3.5 million,
yet would protect about $1 million worth of property. Each year for the next
100 years, the village would have to raise funds equal to twice its 1975
property tax levy to pay for maintenance of the flood control structure. And
the dike would do little to solve many of the village’s problems—the
outmigration of young people to urban areas, the severe blight of the downtown,
the feeling that Soldiers Grove was dying.
Their backs against the
wall, community leaders came up with a radical proposal, believing it was the
only way to save the village. They suggested that the federal government spend
the same $3.5 million to help the community evacuate its floodplain and rebuild
the business district on higher ground. Federal assistance would amount to 60%
of the project’s total cost, with state, local and private investments making up
the balance.
With a small planning
grant, Soldiers Grove hired a team of University of Wisconsin specialists headed
by landscape architect Professor Phil Lewis to study the feasibility of
relocation. The team concluded that relocation made good sense.
In 1977, the village
invested its own funds to purchase a site for the new downtown and began the
extension of utility services. However, federal agencies were slow to support
relocation. For three years—from the time the idea was first proposed in early
1975 to 1978—the village’s appeals for assistance were denied.
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Soldiers Grove - 1978 Flood
Photo Courtesy of Betty France |
Then in July
1978, the Kickapoo hit the village again, with the largest flood in
history. The flood inflicted a half-million dollars in damages,
completely destroying several buildings, including the community’s new
concrete block bank. While no one could have wished for such a flood,
it accomplished what community leaders had not been able to do: It
galvanized opinion inside and outside the village that Kickapoo River
flooding was inevitable and that relocation must proceed at once. With
the help of then-U.S. Senators William Proxmire and Gaylord Nelson, the
flood jarred loose the support of federal agencies. The Secretary of
the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development granted the village
$900,000 in the fall of 1978 so that relocation could begin."
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Soldiers Grove - 1978 Flood
Photo Courtesy of Betty France |
Drying Out After the 1978 Flood
Photo Courtesy of Betty France |
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The Flood of 2007
"Soldiers Grove Reflects on Moving"
Excerpts from FEMA Best Practices, Fall 2007
In August of 2007, the biggest flood
in the history of Soldiers Grove came roaring through the village.
The Kickapoo River quickly topped the levees and water didn't recede for
about ten days. Soldiers Grove escaped serious flood damage,
however, as the town had been moved uphill years earlier.
In 2007, Soldier's Grove's central
riverside municipal park and campgrounds, where the downtown once stood,
received little damage. The Solar Village uphill was unscathed.
"The recent flood devastation
reinforced that we did the right thing. I don't ever want to go
through another flood like 1978, " said John Young, a local merchant.
"Common sense tells me the move was
the right thing to do. All we have to do is drive over to Gays
Mills and look at what they are facing, the same things that we faced
years ago. They are having village meetings to decide what to do
to reduce flood impact," said Jerry Moran, Crawford County Sheriff.
Moran said he was proud to be a part
of the relocation project. "It was a huge project for a
small community, and it was successful," Moran said. "What else
can you ask for?"
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Click her to
download the entire FEMA publication |
Main Street of Gays Mills
August 2007
Flood
Photo Courtesy of Jerry Quebe |
Highway 131 in Soldiers Grove
PhotosCourtesy of Jerry Quebe |
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“Here we go again”
Publisher Charley Preusser said it best in the headline
of the June 12, 2008 Crawford County Independent-Kickapoo Scout, going
on to describe a flood that eclipsed the record flood of August 2007.
The torrents of rain that had poured into the upper
reaches of the Kickapoo Valley filled the river and village after
village was overtaken by floodwaters moving relentlessly downriver. The
raging river reached Soldiers Grove in the darkness of night on Sunday,
June 8. |
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By
daylight, village president Laurel Hestetune declared it the worst
flooding the village had ever experienced. Soldiers Grove was forced to
evacuate Pine Street by boat. An area above the park, known as The
Flat, was also evacuated--a first for the village.
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But it was the park—Soldier’s Grove’s former Main Street--that took the
direct hit. The river breached a levee and tore through the park,
unearthing broken glass, shards, and other debris that had once served
as fill in the basements of the Old Town. |
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The park looked as if it had been struck by a bomb. The
pavement in the parking lot was completely lifted off. Glass and silt
replaced grass and soil. The playground equipment, ball field,
skateboard park, basketball hoops, and tennis courts were gone, as was a
gazebo. Damage was estimated at $2,000,000. |
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Within a week, work was begun in earnest. The village
board orchestrated a clean-up effort that involved every available
excavating contractor. The ground was scraped, shaped and re-seeded.
Sidewalks and curbs were poured. Fences were replaced and monuments
were repaired. Plantings began to look a little less battered. And
just over three months later, over 3,500 people attended the Driftless
Area Art Festival in a restored park. On nearby Pine Street, the newly
re-opened Roth House Bed & Breakfast hosted an open house, and neighbors
were undertaking restoration and raising of homes that had been
underwater only a dozen weeks before. |
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Once again, the wisdom of moving the town was underscored
by the Kickapoo River, and the can-do attitude of the village was put on
full display.
2008 Flood Photos Courtesy of Jerry Quebe |
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Sources
William S. Becker,
U.S. Department of Energy with assistance of Roberta F. Stauffer, National
Center for Appropriate Technology, “Rebuilding for the Future…A Guide to
Sustainable Redevelopment for Disaster-Affected Communities,” U.S. Department of
Energy, September 1994
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Region V in cooperation with
the State of Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Best
Practices--Fall 2007, "Mitigation in Wisconsin." |
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