2025 - Floods

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History of the Blue River Valley and Tuttle Creek Dam

Kevin Larson gives a presentation on The History of the Blue River Valley and Tuttle Creek Dam. April 1, 2014. Recorded by Dan Walter, Custom Family Stories.

Tuttle Creek Dam and "Big Dam Foolishness"

(Big Dam Foolishness sign in Randolph, Kansas)

Twenty-five floods impacted the Manhattan area between 1903 and 1959. The Flood Control Act of 1938 authorized a reservoir, and in 1944, the first bit of funding was acquired. Several years were spent in the planning phase before the 1951 flood spurred action. In 1952, construction began on the Tuttle Creek Dam.

The community’s divided opinion was clear. A 1952 poll done by the Mercury-Chronicle here in Manhattan shows this, when locals were asked “Do you favor the building of Tuttle Creek dam?” Over a dozen answers made it to print, with varying reasons for or against the dam.

In favor, one woman wrote: “I suffered a $6,000 loss during the flood last year and it’s evident that something must be done. I lived in California for 15 years and have been able to witness the effectiveness of large dams built in that state. The proposed Tuttle Creek dam would benefit Manhattan without destroying farmlands northward if the floodgates are kept open except during times or high water.”
Against it, one man wrote: “The Tuttle Creek dam would do as much good in the Atlantic Ocean as it would on the Blue River, in my opinion. Any dam built with earth stands a good chance of breaking and its building would be dangerous for people of Manhattan. Besides, thousands of acres of good farmland would be wasted.”

Labeling the Tuttle Creek Dam project as “Big Dam Foolishness,” protestors were able to delay construction from December 1953 until December 1955 through vigorous campaigning, letter writing, and public debate.

However, the dam was eventually completed in 1962. Several small towns were flooded and approximately 3,000 people were displaced to make way for the dam.

Bibliography & Further Reading for Floods

Primary Sources

"1951 Combined Flood Edition of Kansas State Collegian, Manhattan Mercury-Chronicle," The Manhattan Mercury, July 12, 1951.

Manhattan Tribune News, A Picture Book Record of the Great Flood of 1951, Manhattan, Kansas (Manhattan Tribune Publishing, 1951)

Secondary Sources

Genandt, James D., The People be Dammed: The Tale of Tuttle Creek, Emporia State University, 1988.

Lawson, Kevin. "The Building of Tuttle Creek Dam." Kansas Kin, Vol. 60, No. 1, May 2022. https://rileycgs.com/upload/2021__November/Kansas_Kin_v60_n1_May_2022_1651715417.pdf
Meyer, Phillip E., Tuttle Creek Dam - A Case Study in Local Opposition, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 1962.

Stamey McManis Mary and John McManis. "Revisiting Garrison: Tuttle Creek Dam's Impact." Kansas Kin, Vol. 60, No. 1, May 2022. https://rileycgs.com/upload/2021__November/Kansas_Kin_v60_n1_May_2022_1651715417.pdf
Younger, Coleman. "Big Dam Foolishness: Tuttle Creek Dam and its Effects on the Blue Valley." Lost Kansas Communities, https://lostkansas.ccrsdigitalprojects.com/tuttle-creek-dam-riley-county

Though the Kansas River has flooded many times over the past two centuries, three major floods impacted Manhattan and changed the course of the Kansas River.

In the spring and summer of 1844, a flood greatly impacted the lower Mississippi River and extended into the upper Missouri River which led to flooding on the plains including the Kansas River. It is estimated that the Kansas River bottoms flooded anywhere from eight to ten feet. The results of this great flooding could still be seen along her banks 18 to 20 years later. In some parts, the river filled up the old riverbed and when the water went down, the river had changed its course as it meandered through the area. It is believed that unprecedented rains up the valley of the Kansas River and its tributaries caused this early flood.

In May 1903, spring storms, freezes, hail, and tornadoes along with another unprecedented rainfall by as much as 17 inches fell to the east of Manhattan. Rivers were flooded from as far away as Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, and Oklahoma. Flooding extended more than 200 miles to the Missouri border.

(Wareham Hall on Poyntz Avenue during the flooding in July 1951. Photo Courtesy of the Riley County Historical Society & Museum).

July 1951 saw yet another flood overtake the area. Between 8 and 16 inches fell within a two-week period. The greatest single day of flood destruction in the midwestern United States was July 13th. The river crested 4 to 6 feet above previous recordings. In Manhattan, the Kansas River stood at 33.4 feet, 15.4 feet above flood stage. Twenty-eight lives were lost and more than a billion dollars in damages, which would be more than $6.5 billion today. After this flood, in hopes of mitigating future flood damage, the construction of Tuttle Creek Dam began in 1952 amidst much controversy and was completed in 1962.

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