Flood, The 1957

Duane's take

Here's my telling of the official marker for the 1957 Flood in Lampasas County — straight from the historical record. Now, water has a long memory in Lampasas. The whole area drains down into the Sulphur Creek basin, and that stream cuts right across town — coming in from the southwestern edge, rolling out toward the east side, picking up Burleson Creek and other branches along the way.

The town had already tangled with floods before. Notable ones struck in 1873, in 1936, and again in 1944. After that 1944 rise, city officials weren't about to sit still.

They dredged the creek, threw up earthen levees, did what people do when water has made its point. Seemed like enough. It wasn't enough. 1957 came in heavy.

Texas had been through a long drought, and when the rains finally arrived, they arrived with a grudge. That spring, on May 12th, sustained downpours began collecting water along the upper reaches of the Sulphur Creek headwaters. And here's the thing that makes a river dangerous — it doesn't just rise where you're standing.

It rises everywhere at once, and then everything joins everything else. The water found the downstream tributaries, and it started coming over the banks. Only two weeks before, there had already been a rise.

Two weeks. The ground remembered. Through the night of Mother's Day — May 12th, 1957 — floodwaters raged through the middle of Lampasas.

They slammed into stores and houses with dramatic force. Cars were washed away. Property disappeared into the dark and the current.

Around the square, the flat tops of buildings became islands of safety for people trapped above the churning water below, neighbors and strangers alike, holding on and waiting out the night while the town they knew came apart around them. Five people died. Five.

That number deserves to sit there for a moment before we move on. In the days and weeks after, Lampasas regrouped. Businesses reopened within months.

People rebuilt. That's what towns do, and it doesn't make the loss any smaller — it just means the living kept living. But the tremendous loss of life and property from that Mother's Day flood spurred city officials to action in a way that earlier measures never had.

New flood control measures followed. The marker puts it plainly, and plainly is the right way to say it: the 1957 flood proved to be a turning point in city planning and development, and in the history of Lampasas itself. Some lessons get taught gently.

And some come roaring through the middle of town on a Mother's Day night.

What the marker says

The 1957 Flood The area around Lampasas drains to the Sulphur Creek basin, and the stream flows across the town from the southwestern edge to the east side, intersecting with Burleson Creek and other branches along the way. Floods have struck the town throughout its history, and notable early ones occurred in 1873, 1936 and 1944. Following the 1944 rise, city officials took measures to address the problem, dredging the creek and constructing earthen levees. Such work, however, failed to prepare the town for what would occur in the next decade. 1957 was a year of heavy rainfall in Texas, following a long period of drought. On May 12 of that year, only two weeks after an earlier rise, sustained downpours in the area caused water to begin collecting along upper reaches of the Sulphur Creek headwaters, and as it quickly joined up with downstream tributaries it began to spill over the banks. Through the night of Mothers Day, May 12, 1957, floodwaters rages through the middle of town, slamming into stores and houses with dramatic force, and washing away cars and other property. Flat tops of buildings around the square became islands of safety for those trapped by the water, and residents fought to save themselves and their families. Tragically, five people died in the incident. Following the devastating flood, the citizens of Lampasas regrouped and rebuilt, and businesses reopened within months. The tremendous loss of life and property caused by the Mothers Day flood of 1957 spurred city officials to action, and new flood control measures soon followed. The 1957 flood thus proved to be a turning point in city planning and development, as well as the history of Lampasas. (2005)