October 17, 2007

In 1938, the U.S. Congress passed the Flood Control Act, which authorized the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to build dams on most of the nation’s free-flowing streams. Several dams were built in Arkansas, including Greers Ferry Dam on the Little Red River in Cleburne County. A negative effect of these projects was the displacement of many families due to the destruction of towns that would be covered by water. Cove Creek Valley, shown here on the edge of the rising waters, was one of at least four communities flooded by the damming of the Little Red River.