1927 Mississippi River Flood (Archives): Manuscript Collections

Pat Harrison Collection. Contains both the personal and congressional papers of Pat Harrison, who represented Mississippi in the U.S. House of Representatives (1911-1919) and the U.S. Senate (1919-1941). Includes several files scattered throughout the collection on the 1927 flood and the flood control bills that followed.  116 boxes.  Note: This collection is stored in an off-site facility and requires two days advance notice so that staff may transfer requested boxes to the Special Collections Reading Room. 

E. Wilson Lyon Collection. 1923-1974. Letters from UM graduate E. Wilson Lyon from his time as a Rhodes Scholar in Oxford, England from 1925 to 1928. Correspondence discusses the 1927 flood.  3 boxes + 1 bound volume.

Memories of Mississippi Essay Collection. Contains oral histories of Mississippi residents, including one by Fred McGaughey who discusses the 1927 flood. 1 box.

William C. Nelson Collection. Box 8, Folder 8 includes a 1 May 1927 letter from Virginia Nelson, a Red Cross nurse, regarding her experiences during the 1927 flood.  11 boxes.

Newspapers (Boxed). Box 63 includes a Photogravure Picture Section on the 1927 flood from the Memphis Commercial Appeal (15 May 1927). 75 boxes.

William M. Whittington Collection. Contains the personal and congressional papers of William M. Whittington, who represented Mississippi in the U.S. House of Representatives between 1925 and 1950. Serving a Delta district, Whittington responded to demands from his constituents following the 1927 flood, introducing the Flood Control Act of 1928 which authorized extensive dam and levee work in the Delta. Boxes 2 through 6 holds files on flood control speeches, letters, and legislation dating between 1925 and 1932. 316 boxes.  Note: This collection is stored in an off-site facility and requires two days advance notice so that staff may transfer requested boxes to the Special Collections Reading Room.