Great Red River Flood of 1945
During the Great Red River Flood of 1945, the Cane River rose and crested 16 feet above it's typical mean pool elevation of 98.0 on April 10,1945. The brick coursing variation above denotes the level to which the waters rose during the 1945 flood and marks the highest recorded river elevation to date.
This flood event was caused due to very heavy rainfall over North Texas, Eastern Oklahoma, and Southwest Arkansas during February and March of 1945. The final rain event during March 29-31 was the final straw, and waters rose to record levels during the first two weeks of April along the entire length of the middle Red River.
In 1945, Lake Texoma/Dennison Dam were the only flood control measures on the Red River, and much of the rain fell in the uncontrolled areas.
As a result of the historic record flooding on Red River and its tributaries in 1945 and the far-reaching impacts, the Flood Control Act of 1946 was passed. This Act of Congress provided the funds and directives to build Wright Patman Dam on the Sulfur River of Northeast Texas, Millwood Dam on the Little and Saline Rivers of Southwest Arkansas, and Lake O the Pines Dam on the Big Cypress Bayou of East Texas. These measures, most of which were completed in the mid 1950s, have made another major flood (due to backwater flooding from Red River) on Cane River very unlikely.