A number of houses in St. Peter were threatened by the flood water of the Minnesota River in 1965, including this one. A sandbag dike helped to protect the house.
The sandbag dike system that is shown in this photo was constructed in order to direct flood water from a controlled release from a dike along Sunrise Drive in St. Peter during the 1965 flood. The dike along Sunrise Drive was in danger of being overwhelmed, so water was sent from there to a ravine that ran along the south side of the Earl Fitch home at 416 North Eighth Street, onto North Eighth Street, onto Madison Street, and into the large Recreation Field near the swimming pool. The water could then make its way to the Minnesota River along the streets and through storm sewers.
A view mainly to the south along North Eighth Street, showing a dike built to send water from Sunrise Drive to Madison Street and the Recreation Field in St. Peter, Minnesota during the 1965 flood. The water ultimately made its way to the Minnesota River. The photo was taken near 416 North Eighth Street.
Water from a controlled release at a sandbag dike along Sunrise Drive in St. Peter was sent through this ravine onto North Eighth Street to begin a lengthy journey to the Minnesota River during the 1965 flood. The house on the left side of this photo is located at 416 North Eighth Street. It was the home of the Earl Fitch family. The view is to the east.
A portion of North Minnesota Avenue was covered by flood water from a controlled release from a dike along Sunrise Drive in St. Peter in 1965. That water was sent onto North Eighth Street, diverted to Madison Street, and allowed to spill into the large Recreation Field as it made its way to North Minnesota Avenue and the nearby Minnesota River. The approaching truck in the center of the photo has reached the intersection at Chestnut Street in this view from a location near the Broadway intersection.
The sandbag dike in the foreground was construced at the west end of the mill pond in St. Peter during the 1965 flood in an attempt to contain the rapidly rising water of the Minnesota River. The river water later submerged the dike, and a second dike was constructed on higher ground beside the electrical substation on the north side of the east end of Nassau Street, which is visible in the center of the photo. At the time, the offices of the Light and Water Department were located a short distance to the west (left) of the dike shown here. The offices were later flooded by the continued rise of the river.
Water from a controlled release from a dike along Sunrise Drive flowed eastward along Madison Street in St. Peter during the 1965 flood. The water was sent through a ravine to North Eighth Street, diverted onto Madison Street, and sent into the Recreation Field, from which it made its way to the nearby Minnesota River. This view looks to the west from a location at the intersection of Madison Street with North Washington Avenue.
The Conrad Anderson family home at 320 North Seventh Street can be seen beside the sandbag barrier along the south side of Madison Street in St. Peter during the 1965 flood. The water came from a controlled release from a dike along Sunrise Drive, from which it was sent along North Eighth and Madison Streets to the Recreation Field. From there, it made its way to the Minnesota River.
Material used to construct a temporary dike along Madison Street in St. Peter during the 1965 flood is shown in this photograph. The view is to the south, from a location on North Seventh Street, in front of the Ray Olson family home at 403 North Seventh.
The house with the dark siding in the photograph is located at 402 South Seventh Street in St. Peter. The photo was taken during the 1965 flood. Material used to construct a dike along Madison Street is visible across the middle of the photo. A controlled release of water from a dike along Sunrise Drive sent water to North Eighth and Madison Streets, from which it made its way to the Minnesota River.
The dike along the south side of Madison Street in St. Peter during the 1965 flood is visible in this photograph that was taken from a location on the north side of Madison, between North Eighth and North Seventh Streets. The street sign is at the intersection with North Seventh Street.
Madison Street in St. Peter was severely damaged by water that was released from a dike along Sunrise Drive during the 1965 flood. The water was channeled from Sunrise Drive to North Eighth and Madison Streets to the Recreation Field, from which it made its way to the Minnesota River. This view is to the east from a location in the intersection with North Seventh Street.
The house in the center of the photo was the home of Conrad Anderson at 320 North Seventh Street in St. Peter at the time of the 1965 flood. The large pile on the right side of the photo was part of an extensive sandbag dike that ran along Madison Street, which intersected North Seventh Street. The dike was constructed to send flood water from Sunrise Drive to the Minnesota River, partly along Madison Street.
A view to the west along a ravine between Madison and Skaro Streets and west of North Eighth Street in St. Peter, Minnesota. Flood water behind a dike along Sunrise Drive was released into the ravine and diverted onto North Eighth and Madison Streets to the Recreation Field, from which the water could make its way to the Minnesota River.
Water from a controlled release from a dike along Sunrise Drive in St. Peter flowed through this ravine along the south side of the Earl Fitch home at 416 North Eighth Street. The water was then directed onto North Eighth and Madison Streets, from which it flowed into the Recreation Field and the Minnesota River.
This 1965 photograph was taken in St. Peter during the 1965 flood. It shows a very small portion of the melted snow that threatened to flood the city from the area west of Sunrise Drive. The photo appears to have been taken along Traverse Road.
The water in the foreground was on North Minnesota Avenue in St. Peter during the 1965 flood. The Travel Center sign was along Broadway. Flood water was released from a dike along Sunrise Drive and was allowed to make its way toward the Minnesota River. Some of that water reached the intersection that is shown in this photo.
Flood water from a controlled release from a dike along Sunrise Drive in St. Peter in 1965 has reached the intersection of North Minnesota Avenue, which is in the foreground, and Chestnut Street. A worker is busy trying to keep the storm sewer drains free of debris. The water was first sent to North Eighth Street, from where it was diverted onto Madison Street and into the Recreation Field. Various streets allowed the water to eventually flow to the Minnesota River.
This view looking westward up Chestnut Street from North Minnesota Avenue in St. Peter was taken in 1965 when flood water from a controlled release from a dike along Sunrise Drive was making its way to the nearby Minnesota River.
A sandbag dike along North Eighth Street in St. Peter in 1965 turned flood water flowing eastward from a controlled release from a dike along Sunrise Drive into a southward flow for one half of a block. The water then traveled eastward on Madison Street until it reached the Recreation Field and the Minnesota River. This photograph looks to the north along North Eighth Street, from its intersection with Madison Street.
In the distance in this photograph, a sandbag dike can be seen that has turned the flow of flood water coming eastward from Sunrise Drive in St. Peter in 1965 to flow for one half of a block southward along North Eighth Street. The water was then sent along Madison Street to the Recreation Field and onward to the Minnesota River. The photograph looks to the north from the intersection of North Eighth and Madison Streets.
This dike along North Eighth Street in St. Peter during the 1965 flood sent water from a controlled release from a dike along Sunrise Drive to Madison Street. This photo looks to the north, from a location at the intersection of North Eighth and Madison Streets. The water eventually reached the Minnesota River.
Flood water flows eastward along Madison Street toward the Recreation Field in St. Peter in 1965. The water came from a controlled release from a dike along Sunrise Drive. The photograph looks to the west from the intersection of Madison Street with North Fifth Street.
Madison Street in St. Peter received a large amount of flood water from a controlled release from a dike along Sunrise Drive in 1965. The water on Madison was contained by the dike shown in this view to the east, taken from a location at the intersection with North Eighth Street. The cars in the photo are on North Seventh Street.
From the intersection of North Eighth Street with Madison Street in St. Peter, flood water from a controlled release from a dike along Sunrise Drive can be seen flowing eastward on Madison toward the Recreation Field and the Minnesota River in 1965. Both North Eighth and Madison Streets were protected by sandbag dikes.
Water flows eastward along Madison Street toward the Recreation Field in St. Peter in this 1965 photograph. The water came from a controlled release from a dike along Sunrise Drive. It ultimately reached the Minnesota River. This photograph was taken from Madison Street, at its intersection with North Washington Avenue. The warm-up shack at the skating rink in the Recreation Field can be seen in the distance at the east end of this portion of Madison Street.
Water flows eastward along Madison Street toward the Recreation Field in St. Peter in this 1965 photograph. The water came from a controlled release from a dike along Sunrise Drive. It ultimately reached the Minnesota River. This photograph was taken from Madison Street, at its intersection with North Washington Avenue. The warm-up shack at the skating rink in the Recreation Field can be seen in the distance at the east end of this portion of Madison Street.
The Bob's Signs building a short distance north of the intersection of what is currently Old Minnesota Avenue and St. Julien Street in St. Peter was flooded in 1965. The building is on the west side of the Avenue. This street used to be part of Highway 169.
A Rescue Service truck stopped in front of the Henry Kretschmer family home at 324 North Eighth Street during the flood in St. Peter in 1965. Flood water from a controlled release from a dike along Sunrise Drive was sent along North Eighth and Madison Streets to the Recreation Field and the Minnesota River. Sandbags along both streets can be seen in this photo taken from a location east of North Eighth Street on the north side of Madison Street.
Large chunks of ice on the Minnesota River hit the Highway 22 bridge at St. Peter during the 1965 flood. This photograph was taken from the west end of the bridge. In the background, a small portion of the Rabbit Road bridge over the highway can be seen. The location is in Kasota Township in Le Sueur County.
Large amounts of ice can be seen at the Highway 22 bridge over the flooded Minnesota River in 1965 at St. Peter. The photograph was taken from a location above the river by the Holiday House Supper Club on the east side of the river. This location is in Kasota Township in Le Sueur County.
This photograph is part of a large series of photographs that was taken during the 1965 flood in St. Peter. It appears to be the site along Sunrise Drive where a break was made in the dike to allow rapidly rising flood water to be directed eastward to the Minnesota River.
Water from a controlled release at a dike along Sunrise Drive in St. Peter can be seen as it is being diverted from North Eighth Street onto Madison Street as it makes its way to the Minnesota River during the 1965 flood. The garage and the rear of the house of the Conrad Anderson family at 320 North Seventh Street can be seen near the top of the photo, slightly to the right of the center of the photograph. The photograph was taken from the intersection of North Eighth and Madison Streets.
Madison Street in St. Peter became a shallow river while flood water from a controlled release from a dike along Sunrise Drive flowed toward the Recreation Field and the Minnesota River. The water was initially directed onto North Eighth Street before it was sent eastward along Madison. The front-end loaders in this view to the west are at the intersection of Madison and North Washington Avenue.
The damage to Madison Street in St. Peter caused by the controlled release of water from behind a dike along Sunrise Drive during the 1965 flood is shown in this photo. The photo was taken in the intersection of North Eighth and Madison Streets, looking to the east.
Damage to Madison Street in St. Peter during the 1965 flood can be seen in this photo. Water from a controlled release in a dike along Sunrise Drive was diverted to North Eighth and Madison Streets, from which it made its way to the Minnesota River. The photograph was taken in the intersection of North Eighth and Madison Streets, looking to the east.
Water released from a dike along Sunrise Drive flowed along North Eighth Street in the foreground of this photo before it was diverted to flow eastward along Madison Street in St. Peter during the 1965 flood. The photo was taken in the intersection of North Eighth and Madison Streets, looking to the east. The water eventually made its way to the Minnesota River.
A large amount of water flowed along Madison Street in St. Peter during the 1965 flood, causing significant damage. The water came from a controlled release from a dike along Sunrise Drive. That water was initially directed onto North Eighth Street, diverted onto Madison, and sent into the Recreation Field, from which it made its way to the Minnesota River. The flooded Recreation Field can be seen in the distance in this photo, which looks to the east from a location on Madison at its intersection with North Washington Avenue.
Flood water from melted snow west of the city can be seen behind the dike that was constructed along Sunrise Drive in St. Peter during the 1965 flood. Many people responded to the urgent call for volunteers to build the dike. The trees at the far right were located in Calvary Cemetery.
The dike shown here was constructed along Sunrise Drive in St. Peter during the 1965 flood to prevent water from melted snow west of the city from flooding the city below. First Lutheran Church can be seen in the distance to the north.
A view to the north along the sandbag dike that was constructed along Sunrise Drive in St. Peter during the 1965 flood. First Lutheran Church can be seen on the right side of the photo. Flood water from melted snow west of the city can be seen behind the dike.
A view to the north along Sunrise Drive in St. Peter, Minnesota during the 1965 flood. The dike shown in the photo was constructed in order to prevent melted snow that was not able to soak into frozen soil from flooding the community below the crest of the hill along which Sunrise Drive extends. The First Lutheran Church can be seen in the distance at right.
This view to the north along Sunrise Drive during the 1965 flood in St. Peter shows the sandbag dike that was built along Sunrise Drive to contain flood water from melted snow west of the city. First Lutheran Church can be seen to the right of the center of the photo.
The water visible to the right came from melted snow west of St. Peter during the 1965 flood. A dike was constructed along Sunrise Drive to prevent the water from flooding the city below. Various people and vehicles on Sunrise Drive can be seen in the photo. Gustavus Adolphus College and the city water tower are faintly visible to the south in the distance.
Water from a controlled release from a dike along Sunrise Drive in St. Peter during the 1965 flood can be seen flowing along North Eighth Street in this photo taken from the intersection of North Eighth and Madison Streets. The view looks to the north. The water was directed to the city's large Recreation Field, from which it could make its way to the Minnesota River.
The water in this photo flowed along North Eighth Street in St. Peter during the 1965 flood, following a controlled release from a dike along Sunrise Drive, which ultimately sent the water to the Minnesota River. The view is to the north, from a location near the intersection of North Eighth Street with Madison Street.
Flood water flowed through this ravine along the south side of the Earl Fitch family home at 416 North Eighth Street in St. Peter in 1965. The water came from a controlled release from a dike along Sunrise Drive. This photo shows the sandbag dike that sent the water from the ravine onto North Eighth Street. After flowing for one half of a block to the south, it was sent eastward on Madison Street, from which it was directed into the Recreation Field and onward to the Minnesota River.
Skaro Street in St. Peter was flooded by water from a controlled release from a dike along Sunrise Drive in St. Peter in 1965. The water flowed onto North Eighth Street, was diverted onto Madison Street, and was sent into the Recreation Field, from which it made its way to the Minnesota River along streets such as Skaro. This view looks to the northwest from a location at the intersection of Skaro and North Fourth Streets.
A portion of the warm-up shack at the skating rink in the Recreation Field in St. Peter is visible at the far left in this 1965 photo, which was taken from North Fifth Street, near its intersection with Madison Street. The Recreation Field was flooded by water from a controlled release of a dike along Sunrise Drive. The water was sent along North Eighth and Madison Streets before it reached the Recreation Field.