Moving Past the 2011 Record Randolph County, Arkansas Flood

Residents from Randolph County, Arkansas witnessed a historic event on April 28, 2011 when Black River crested at 28.4 ft. The government has kept record of river stages since 1850 and this number exceeded all records. Prior to the flooding of 2011, the highest Black River crest was reported in August 1915 at 27.9 ft. Because flooding has never been as high as it was this year, many people wonder what the results of the flood will be and when life will return to normal.

When trying to decide what to expect after an event such as a historic flood, it is important to look back on the previous record holder. Armed with questions, I visited the Randolph County library one week after the river crest to learn what Pocahontas/Randolph County residents of almost one-hundred years ago experienced during that flood. While topography of Randolph County, Arkansas is different from one-hundred years ago and the population is greater, I saw many commonalities as well as differences.

Communication was different in 1915. As I fast forwarded through the blurry, aged microfilm of August 1915, I was amazed no mention of the flood was made until more than two weeks after the river crest. Headlines from Pocahontas Star Herald for August 27, 1915 read "Great Floods Destroy Much Property in North Arkansas." In 2011, there was only one known death from flooding in Randolph County, Arkansas. In August 1915, there were reports of two families drowning.

In 1915, damages to farm land in Randolph County, Arkansas were in the many thousands of dollars. Mention was made of the old Armstrong levee in eastern Pocahontas being saved by the combined efforts of many men. In 2011, at least one levee in eastern Pocahontas failed in spite of similar efforts.

Pocahontas Star Herald of nearly one-hundred years ago was broken into segments based on smaller communities within Randolph County such as Shannon, Bristow, etc. Comments by the authors of such columns mirrored remarks I read on Facebook.com in 2011 about how it seemed to constantly rain, water was everywhere, and flooding had done much damage.

The flooding in Randolph County, AR from nearly one-hundred years ago was such an event that water levels continued to be higher than they were in fifteen years from publication date of the paper. More than two weeks after the 2011 Black River crest our river remains high (though dropping) as well.

In 2011, damages to property will outnumber the 1915 flood. Many families remain unable to return home for a lengthy stay. The 2011 flood damaged at least three churches in eastern Pocahontas. To compound the problem, many eastern Pocahontas homes and businesses were not covered by flood insurance. Black River never crested as high as last month and many remain in surprise over it.

The newspaper articles that followed the August 27, 1915 issue contain smaller articles about the flooding. The September 10, 1915 issue mentions a quick note about the toll bridge opening for teams and wagons. In 2011 our bridge was closed for several days before being reopened. By the September 17, 1915 issue mention is made of east-side farmers applying for federal aid'"a place where many families affected are at the time of this writing. Life seemed to be resuming normalcy by October 1915 and those of us in Randolph County hope to have the same by mid-Summer.

Pocahontas Star Herald. 27 August 1915. "Great Floods Destroy Much Property in North Arkansas." p. 1.