Remembering 1965, when the Mississippi River recorded its largest flood in La Crosse

In early April of 1965, the Mississippi River was rising quickly.

The water had reached the flood stage of 12 feet in La Crosse by April 9, and forecasters expected the flood level of 15 feet set in 1952 to be beaten by a couple of feet.

The city of La Crosse ordered 15,000 sandbags to hold off the river. One newspaper photo showed several shirtless male college students from La Crosse State stacking sandbags at the Holiday Inn on the pike.

The Mississippi eventually crested at 17.9 feet in La Crosse on April 21, roughly three inches below the predicted high point. Crests were reached the same day upriver from La Crosse, at Wabasha and Winona. Towns downriver from La Crosse, including Lansing and Prairie du Chien, reported record flooding toward the end of the week.

The flood waters in La Crosse crept a few blocks eastward from the river bank, leaving many buildings along the river surrounded by water.

Much of the Copeland Avenue area was also underwater for about two weeks, and the Clinton Street bridge to French Island closed for many days.

The river was still going down in late April, when the 62-year-old La Crosse Courthouse was demolished, as a new courthouse was being built between 4th and 6th Streets.

A Montgomery Ward store replaced the courthouse, and the block now is occupied by Belle Square.

The Racquet newspaper at La Crosse State jokingly suggested names for books that could be written about the flood, such as “We Are Safe,” apparently a bad forecast by the La Crosse County flood inspector, and “How Do You Dispose of 6,000 Sandbags?”

The Harborview project in downtown La Crosse was developed as a reaction to the flood, removing many buildings from the immediate riverfront.

After years of debate and planning, the Harborview project was mostly in place by 1980, including the La Crosse Center, the Radisson Hotel, and the Heileman headquarters.

Flooding has been known to shape the future, yesterday in La Crosse.