06/08/2026
June 9, 1972: Remembering the Black Hills Flood
The forecast for Friday, June 9, 1972, seemed unremarkable.
Highs in the 70s. Lows in the 40s. Isolated afternoon thunderstorms.
By midnight, Rapid City would be experiencing one of the deadliest floods in American history.
Many people are familiar with the slow-moving floods that occur along large rivers. Snow melts, water levels rise, and communities often have days to prepare. Sandbags are filled, valuables are moved to safety, and evacuation plans can be made.
The Black Hills Flood was different.
Rain began in the Rapid City area during the evening of June 9. Within hours, creeks were rising rapidly. Warnings expanded throughout the evening. Evacuations began. Shortly before 11 p.m., Canyon Lake Dam failed. Just after midnight, the flood crest reached downtown Rapid City.
The disaster claimed 238 lives, injured thousands more, and forever changed the community.
South Dakota Mines was not spared.
Across campus, buildings were damaged, personal property was lost, and members of the university community found themselves among the many residents struggling to survive and recover. Contemporary campus accounts describe a practice field transformed into a sea of mud and debris. Faculty, staff, and students joined countless others across Rapid City in cleanup and recovery efforts.
The library suffered particularly heavy damage.
A power pole carried by the floodwaters crashed through a ground-level window, allowing muddy water to pour into the basement. Water eventually reached a depth of approximately eight feet. Library stacks were overturned, partition walls were destroyed, furniture was ruined, and the books and periodicals stored in the basement were lost. Students and faculty worked their way through the mud, hauling debris and salvaging what they could.
Among the losses were the library's journal collection, original theses and dissertations produced by generations of South Dakota Mines students, and other campus publications. Duplicate copies of many items were eventually located and replaced. Others were lost forever.
For libraries and archives, the lesson is a lasting one.
History is more fragile than we often realize. Photographs, publications, research, and institutional records survive only when someone takes the time to preserve them. Every document saved, every photograph identified, and every collection maintained helps ensure that future generations can understand both the tragedy and the resilience that followed.
Recent water damage and cleanup efforts in Devereaux Library have provided a small reminder of that reality. While the events of this past week bear no comparison to the devastation of 1972, they have reinforced an important truth: water has a remarkable ability to disrupt plans, damage collections, and remind us why preservation matters.
As we mark the anniversary of the Black Hills Flood, we invite you to explore the photographs, publications, and historical resources linked below. Through them, we can remember not only the disaster itself, but also the people who endured it, rebuilt, and preserved its story for those who came after.
