Flood Memorial Monument

Introduction

Text-to-speech Audio

The Flood Memorial Monument in Grand Forks, ND was built following the flood of 1997. The flood forced evacuation of the city. Afterward, President Bill Clinton signed an order that granted the community money to rebuild after the natural disaster. The Flood Monument shows the years of the greatest floods and references the height that the flood water rose to. The monument was built to signify 12 of the building that were lost during the flood. It is built on the site of the former Security Building in Grand Forks. This was the first of the 12 buildings that were lost in the downtown fire due to the flood. The flood displaced thousands of people and caused millions of dollars in damage throughout the community.

Images

Flood Memorial Monument in Spring

Flood water on obelisk in April 2006

Monument next to river

Backstory and Context

Text-to-speech Audio

The flood of 1997 was the most notable flood to hit Grand Forks in recorded history. In early March of 1997 the communitiy started to see the starts of what would be the biggest flood to hit Grand Forks. It was stated on page 34 of Flood Stage and Rising by Jane Valley, that "the flooding rivers filled the streets and froze." During this flood season 2 of the 3 bridges that connected East Grand Forks and Grand Forks were closed. The Kennedy bridge had a high span and remained open. "The bridge symbolized movement and connection between North Dakota and Minnesota, and on a deeper level, it symbolized control" (35). During the flood of 1997, schools and businesses closed so that more people could volunteer their time towards the sandbag lines. After the floods destruction that lead to the whole city evacuating, The Grand Forks Harald wrote that, "To the south of DeMers will be an obelisk monument commemorating flood years in Grand Forks and the elevation of flood waters." This was written on Sunday, January 13, 2002. The monument was built and along it, a couple different paths for the community to walk around. This monument stands tall and occasionally in the springs, it sinks slightly under the flood water of the Red River. It hasn't reached the heights of the 1997 waters since.

Sources

PORTER, KIMBERLY K. “1997 GRAND FORKS FLOOD: When History Became Personal.” North Dakota History, vol. 82, no. 1, Summer 2017, pp. 18–34. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ahl&AN=124098506&site=ehost-live&scope=site.

1997 red River flood. (2021, March 19). Retrieved April 19, 2021, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1997_Red_River_flood

Leah. (2019, October 23). The flood memorial monument in Grand FORKS, North Dakota is Both sobering and fascinating to visit. Retrieved April 19, 2021, from https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/north-dakota/flood-memorial-nd/

Administrator, G. (2017, April 22). Letter: Grand FORKS NEEDS Arbor Park as flood memorial. Retrieved April 19, 2021, from https://www.grandforksherald.com/opinion/4255185-letter-grand-forks-needs-arbor-park-flood-memorial

Image Sources(Click to expand)

https://www.trip.com/travel-guide/grand-forks/flood-memorial-monument-23490914/

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Grand_forks_flood_obelisk_April_2006.jpg

http://www.city-data.com/picfilesc/picc2623.php