Governor’s Proclamation Recognizes the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927, Events Planned for Desha and Chicot counties

Arkansas City, Ark. – April 24, 2026 – The Arkansas Governor’s Office recently proclaimed today as The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 Remembrance Day.

The Friends of John H. Johnson Museum and the American Red Cross of Arkansas will observe the Flood of 1927 Remembrance Day with a presentation, and also share flood preparedness and natural disasters tips to kindergarteners and first and second grade students at McGehee and Eudora Elementary schools in Desha and Chicot counties in the Delta region.

During the 1927 Flood, Johnny Johnson, who would later grow up to become John H. Johnson, was a nine-year-old boy and lived with his mother and Arkansas City residents on top of the Arkansas Levee during the flood.

During the 100-year deluge, most of Arkansas City and Desha County were submerged and one of the hardest hit areas. According to historical accounts, floodwaters reached up to 30 feet deep in some areas when the Mississippi River levee broke and stretched across Arkansas as far west as Ashdown in the southwest corner of the state.

According to Encyclopedia Arkansas, the 1927 flood devastated Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Tennessee, but the worst destruction was in Arkansas. In some places, the Mississippi River was sixty miles wide.

However, almost twice as much farmland was flooded in Arkansas as in Mississippi and Louisiana combined. In the state’s largely agrarian and rural Delta basin, the flood covered about more than 5 million acres, with 36 out of 75 counties under water up to 30 feet deep in places when the levee broke.

By all accounts, 350,000 people were affected by the floodwaters in Arkansas, which had more Red Cross camps than any of the other affected states (eighty of the 154 total). The American Red Cross supplied humanitarian aid also supplied relief to over 41,000 families in Arkansas, also more than any other state.

Johnson, an Arkansas City native whose family was displaced during the flood, along with hundreds of other poor Black and white families, would later become the famed founder of Johnson Publishing Company and Ebony and Jet magazines. His childhood home has been relocated to the historic courthouse square in downtown Arkansas City and is operated by Friends of the John H. Johnson Museum. 

The group fosters positive collaborations honoring and observing John H. Johnson’s life and legacy through a curated living history museum with collections, exhibits, programming, and engagement for the community and visitors. John H. Johnson Day is recognized and celebrated annually in November through high quality events and activities.

In October, the museum hosted its 20th anniversary celebration and tribute dinner to the Black publishing icon. Former Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who played a key role in backing and signing legislation in 2019 that established John H. Johnson Day as a statewide memorial holiday, was the keynote speaker. 

The Governor’s proclamation by current Gov. Sarah Sanders concerning the 1927 flood, which was the most destructive river flood in U.S. history, inundating 27,000 square miles and displacing over 630,000 people in Arkansas, Mississippi, Louisiana and the Delta region, “honors those affected, preserves the memory of this pivotal event, and encourages schools to teach its historical significance to future generations.”

For a copy of the full proclamation, visit www.johnhjohnsonmusuem.org.