A January 1937 lead headline in Memphis’ Commercial Appeal blared, “55-foot Crest Predicted,” and Tunica Countians went into action.
Flooding from the Ohio River system pushed the Mississippi to record levels and threatened homes and livelihoods up and down the river. Delta residents had vivid memories of 1927, when the levee failed near Greenville and flooded thousands of acres of the South Delta.
Tunica Countians had reason to fear. If the levee had broken at Commerce in North Tunica County, the Mississippi River would have sent eight feet of floodwater into the town of Tunica. Or if the levee had broken at Mhoon’s Landing, five feet of water would have inundated town residences.

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