Princeville, NC and the May 1958 Floods

Princeville, North Carolina, the oldest African-American incorporated town in the United States, made national headlines in 1999 when Hurricane Floyd completely inundated the town. Over 20 feet of water from the overflowing Tar River covered the town for 10 days that September twelve years ago. Located on a flood plain, this was not the town's first experience with flooding.

In May 1958, the waters of the Tar River inundated the town, although not the degree of Floyd. The reports below detail this event and the state's action to safeguard the people and property of Princeville. Of note in the letter by Harry E. Brown, head of the State Hurricane Rehabilitation Program, he writes "Nineteen floods of record have damaged this area since 1919. In addition to the present one, each of those occurring in 1919, 1924 and 1940 caused considerable damage. It appears that flood frequencies justify another study by the Corps of Engineers to determine what action can be taken to lessen this danger."

In 1965 the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers constructed an earthen dike to ward off floods...until Hurricane Floyd roared into town.