Yettie Polk Park

Most Beltonians are familiar with Yettie Polk Park located on the banks of Nolan Creek in downtown Belton. For decades it has been the site of the city’s annual Fourth of July festivities. The park’s bandstand, where old-time fiddlers gather to play, is situated where the Polk home stood before a thirty-foot wall of water swept down Nolan Creek, demolishing everything in its path in December 1913. A storm centered over the Brazos River Valley in Central Texas and unleashed flash floods that devastasted the small town of Belton. Homes and businesses were washed away and bridges collapsed. The most tragic loss was the drowning of members of the Polk family-- the mother, Yettie, and four of her children.

Modern Texans often joke about the extremes of Texas weather, but 1913 was one for the record books. It was a year of volatile weather patterns across the country.  On December 1-4, a weather system (now referred to as El Niño) lodged over Central Texas. Weather maps of the time showed an area of low barometric pressure attended by unusually warm weather resulting in copious amounts of rainfall on an area that was already saturated. The Temple Daily Telegram characterized the clouds that came up from the southwest about 7:30 p.m. on December 1 as being oblong-shaped and seeming to hang over Belton, Salado, and Nolanville. When the rains began, observers remarked, “the very flood gates of heaven were opened, and the water fell in sheets on the stricken territory.”

 Nolan Creek, a tributary of the Leon River, ran through the center of Belton. Roaring waters from the Leon, Little, and Lampasas Rivers merged with the high water in Nolan Creek, causing it to reach its maximum saturation level. Shortly after midnight on December 2, Joseph Higgs, an employee of Monteith Abstract Company noted the high water as he crossed the jail bridge over Nolan Creek (at Central Avenue). He joined up with two other local men, Sam Hamilton, and a Mr. Boney, and went door to door sounding the alarm to nearby homes. Dozens of houses were scattered along the creek, one of them belonging to the William Polk family. Their pier-and-beam home at 220 West Central Avenue was situated about fifty meters from the south bank of Nolan Creek. It was Mrs. Polk’s childhood home, the house built by her father, Julius Tobler. Mr. Boney went to the Polk home to rouse the sleeping family; his knocks were answered by Florence, one of the Polk daughters.

The sequence of events of the flood is preserved mostly in newspaper accounts which vary widely. The following account appeared in the Temple Daily Telegram: "When W. C. Polk, the head of the almost annihilated family, woke and found the water in the house he at once set about to rescue his family. Securing a horse, he rode into the rapid waters and carried away to safety his eldest son, but when he attempted to return for other members of the family the current was too swift, and horse and rider were swept downstream. The heroic father saved his life only by supreme effort, and a moment later the house bearing his beloved family was swept down-stream. People that lined the creek banks tell harrowing tales of the screaming of the doomed mother and her children as they floated past in the tilting house. The watchers stood helpless, powerless to render aid. The house, after floating down the creek a short way, went to pieces and the terror stricken mother and her children were drowned in the merciless waters."

The greatest tragedy of the Belton flood was the loss of five members of the Polk family. Almost immediately, thoughts turned to memorializing those who died. Yettie Polk seemed to embody the tragedy—the mother of five was born in the house where she later died. The Belton Civic League met in February 1914 to discuss Belton’s past progress and future plans. As part of the campaign for a Cleaner Belton and “City Beautiful,” E. C. Clabaugh suggested that the course of Nolan Creek be made a city park from the point where the stream entered the city on the north to the east where it made its exodus. All undergrowth would be cleared away and the channel maintained free of timber and other obstructions. The nut-bearing trees along the banks would be cultivated and concrete crossings placed at various locations along the creek.

The Civic League mapped out plans to rehabilitate the flood-swept area. A bandstand or pavilion was constructed at the site of the Polk family home. The sides were painted white with the top painted a “beautiful green.” In 1919, an electric piano was installed in the bandstand for dancing. It was leased jointly to the local Business and Professional Women’s Club and the Lions Club and became known as the Park Club House. “Fixtures for the pleasure of the children” such as swings, seesaw boards, and merry-go-rounds were added.

Eventually all Belton Independence Day celebration events were held in Yettie Polk Park, with festivities beginning the week leading up to July 4. Through the years, the Belton Civic League continued to raise money for park beautification and improvement by sponsoring community events. As early as the 1970s, the City’s Master Development Plan called for hike and bike trails along Nolan Creek from Interstate 35 on the southeast to the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor. The purpose was to link neighborhoods to the downtown. The city partnered with UMHB and the Texas Department of Transportation to complete each phase of the project. The City of Belton boasts on its website that the hike and bike trail is “the crown jewel of the Belton Park System.” The first phase of the development was completed in 2006. It consisted of 7,500 feet of 10-foot concrete hike and bike trail, seven pocket parks, 500 feet of limestone rock retaining wall, one low water crossing of Nolan Creek, one pedestrian bridge, seven water way crossings, about 1,500 feet of decorative handrail, and two parking lots.

 Yettie Polk Park stands as a fitting memorial to the Polk family and a lasting symbol of the courage, determination, and community spirit of the people of Belton. In the heart of Belton, it remains a popular place for community activities. The Kiwanis Turtle Fest, the 4th of July celebration, and Christmas on the Chisholm Trail are a few of the events held in the park. Walkers and bikers frequent the trails while children feed the ducks along Nolan Creek. A place of loss and tragedy has been transformed into a welcoming retreat.

Karimkhani, Denise. Yettie Polk and the Belton Flood of 1913. Middletown, DE.: Independently published, 2022..