MINNEOTA MEMORY

North Jefferson Street between Second and Third Street became a river during a flood in June of 1957. A nine-inch rainfall in Minneota on June 17 resulted in the worst flood ever to hit town. Sixteen blocks on the west and north part of Minneota were flooded and over half of the homes in town suffered some sort of water damage. Flood waters eventually moved into the business district. The flood took the life of 59-year-old Melvin Benson, who drowned when his car dropped into a 15-foot cut in a township road 3 ½ miles east of Minneota caused by raging waters in a drainage ditch.