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Rebuilding the Levee
Work began immediately to repair the huge washout in the levee, not only for future protection of the town, but because a portion of railroad track had washed
out with it.
By early March Congressman Eugene B. Crowe
had toured the areas affected by the flood and had introduced a Congressional bill which would provide for $50 million in grant money for a total of nine states.
That same week the Red Cross began actual work on rehabilitating homes. They announced that lot owners whose homes had been destroyed would come first,
and would be permitted to choose their own contractors and would come first. They would also be allowed to purchase supplies and equipment from whomever else they chose.
By September, the local Red Cross office had been closed.
They published a request to families who had been loaned tents to live in while their homes were being
rebuilt, to return the tents as soon as they were vacated.
They reported that they had made 1878 individual awards, spending almost a million dollars on rehabilitation, including 178 complete new homes. They had also spent $158,000 for such things as food, clothing and maintenance of the camp.
By mid-September of 1937, the Big Four Railroad announced that rebuilding of their roadbed from Hardentown was nearing completion.
Above, left to right: Floodgate assembly after construction. Curious onlookers were attracted by the massive construction project.