Seney, Iowa
Flood June 1953
Rising water of the Floyd River

LeMars Sentinel, dated 12 Jun 1953

SENEY: (Special Correspondence)

The people of Seney and community have nearly all settled down to their everyday life and work after the very heavy rain on Sunday, June 7, 1953, followed by a cloud twister, then flood coming in from the north the morning of June 8.

The Floyd River was at least 10 ft. or more higher than it has ever been known in History. Hundreds, yes maybe thousands of livestock perished—a total loss to all owners.

Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell Zoerink and family wish to express their thanks to all their friends and neighbors who assisted them in so many ways, when at their home in Seney, the water was over five feet deep on the first floor. They escaped in time, but lost all household goods, clothing and everything in the house. [end of new article]

[Pictures in possession and submitted by Linda Ziemann, Plymouth county CC]
The pictures were taken by my paternal grandparents who were living in Seney at the time of the flood.
Note the backdrop of trees behind the Zoerink house. These trees were the famous Seney Grove, where many baseball games and picnics had been held since the late 1800’s.

The small building with the SENEY sign perched on the roof was the small depot building that sat right next to the railroad tracks at Seney.

Last Picture: the Zoerink house as the water begins to recede. The Floyd slowly moved back into it’s banks.