Water Resources Archive Exhibit marks 30th anniversary of the Big Thompson flood
When thunderheads gathered over the Thompson Canyon on July 31, 1976, to the residents of Glen Haven, it looked like an ordinary summer thunderstorm was about to hit the Colorado foothills. The rain started out like any other rain. As the sun set, lightening flashed frequently and the power went out. But even power outages and streaking skies seemed a normal occurrence. But then the water started to rise. The Big Thompson River flowed over its banks literally filling the canyon, drowning roads, residences, and businesses nestled between the sharp walls of rock.
Thirty years ago, what should have been a typical thunderstorm ended up as the worst natural disaster in Colorado history. The storm stalled over the Thompson Canyon, dumping 12 inches of rain in approximately 4 hours. On the day of what has become known as the Big Thompson Flood, 418 homes and 52 businesses were destroyed, 144 lives were lost, and $35,500,000 was assessed in damages.
In a state riddled with drought, a flood feels like a near impossibility. As many of us drive the Thompson Canyon for site seeing in Estes or a weekend of camping in Rocky Mountain National Park, with the Big Thompson River flowing tamely beside the road, it is hard to imagine what the victims of that flood must have seen and experienced on that harrowing night.
To mark this devastating event, on the flood's 30th anniversary, the Water Resources Archive at Colorado State University Libraries, in the midst of its own five-year anniversary, has created an exhibit for audiences to come as close to experiencing the Big Thompson Flood as now possible. "Water Through Time: An Exhibit Recalling Colorado Water Events Upon the Fifth Anniversary of the Water Resources Archive" marks the Big Thompson Flood anniversary as well as other landmark events in Colorado's water history.
"By presenting historical perspectives, we want to increase understanding of water's place in our future," says Patty Rettig, the Water Archive's head archivist and curator of this exhibit.
The Water Resources Archive, which opened in 2001 as a repository to collect, preserve, and promote the historic artifacts and documents that capture Colorado's water history, has grown over the last five years to include 40 collections of individuals and organizations. It is a collection so vast that the archival materials would extend almost a quarter of one mile if boxes were placed end to end. "Our collection is open to the public and like the collection, the exhibit is a chance for people to see water history firsthand, to understand floods, droughts, water projects, and policies that are effecting Coloradoans to this day," said Rettig.
The Big Thompson Flood portion of the exhibit does just that. The many photographs-a haunting list of the 1000 missing, a truck sinking into the river, a home punctured by a giant pine-official document, and a collection of oral histories from the victims in their own words offer a unforgettable portrait of the Big Thompson Flood and its aftermath.
Also featured are materials that document the Invention of the Parshall Flume (1921-1922); the Signing of the Colorado River Compact (1922); the Arrival of the Dust-Bowl Droughts (1930-1940); the Completion of the Colorado-Big Thompson Project (1957); and the Commencement of the Fryingpan-Arkansas Project (1962).
The exhibit, located in room 202 of Morgan Library on the CSU campus in Fort Collins, is open from 8:30-4:30, Monday through Friday.
For more information, please visit our Web site at http://lib.colostate.edu/archives/water or call the Archives directly, 970-491-1844.
Category: Events and Coming Attractions
Submitted: Thursday, July 27, 2006
Subject: Colorado State University Libraries
Contact: Judea Franck
E-mail: Judea.Franck@colostate.edu
Phone: (970) 491-5712
