As with any settlement on the banks of a river, winter flooding has been a constant threat for many towns in Marion County. Often it starts with an unusually heavy snow pack in the mountains followed by equally heavy rains that melt the snow and swell the streams and rivers to past their capacity.

Early trappers reported flooding but it wasn't experienced by the early settlers until 1844 when heavy rains and flooding took it's toll on the land. However, even the flood of 1844 paled in comparison to the extensive damage caused by the flood of 1861. A local Newspaper Account reported the devastation.

To be continued.....