The History of Moses Creek
- Cheyenne Antell
- Jun 10
- 9 min read
Introduction
Stevens Point has been flattened, paved, and developed beyond recognition for those who saw the land 185 years ago. A main feature that has been lost is our slough; a waterway that stretched between today’s Schmeekle Reserve and Pfiffner Park. It served as a channel to drain wetlands north of Stevens Point and funneled water to the Wisconsin River. The slough flowed particularly strong during the spring thaw and fall rains. While flooding certainly occurred before the Wisconsin River was dammed up, the addition of dams and the burial of the slough led to frequent flooding throughout downtown Stevens Point. Rerouting the buried slough into Stevens Point’s storm water system finally put an end to the flooding, but the ghost of the slough is still around; just walk through Pfiffner Park after a day of rain to feel how the water still gathers there, waiting to be pushed into the River.
Moses Creek Development from 1846-1917
Portage County consists of 17 incorporated townships. Stevens Point, the county seat, is located just west of the center of the county, with the city limits on both sides of the Wisconsin River. This river flows south to Plover before abruptly turning west towards Wood County. In general, all of our ground water flows towards the river. North of Stevens Point the townships of Hull, Dewey, and Sharon all have meandering marshlands. Out of these marshes flows excess groundwater and runoff, which eventually eroded a slough between the marshes and the River. A slough is an extra waterway, often seasonally filled, and is a visual representation of the health of the wetlands and waterways that it connects. We know that settlers first attempted to corral Moses Creek by digging a more defined channel for the water to flow through. In 1839 a state surveyor, Joshua Hathaway, was sent to survey Portage County and other nearby land so it could be sold to settlers. He did note a large amount of marshes but he did not note any defined slough or creek through the area; it is very likely that settlers made these changes later on, in an attempt to control flooding. Later in 1853, one of his survey maps showed a low, marshy area in the area of UW - Stevens Point, flowing through a defined channel into the Wisconsin River.
The first state regulation on dams, the Milldam Act of 1840, allowed millpowering dams to be constructed without needing to acquire easements for private land that may be flooded after they were built. This act would prove contentious; early settlers didn’t enjoy purchasing dry land and later seeing their cows graze in ankle-deep water without getting any compensation. It took until 1909 for the state legislature to decide they were sick of repealing and reinstating the Milldam Act, and they gave the power to oversee dams to state agencies instead.
In Stevens Point, the Milldam Act allowed the first dam to be built across the River in 1846. Abraham Brawley constructed a mill-powering dam roughly where the Highway 66 bridge currently crosses the Wisconsin River downtown. The wide flowage moves to a deep, narrow channel in this area of the river. With the slough being more defined through town and with the water now entering the Wisconsin River above the dam site, Stevens Point was a few heavy rains away from a flood. In both 1847 and 1866 the Wisconsin River was marked as having record highs, which meant the local settlers were battling floodwaters.
The first large flood to be noted in a newspaper was in 1880. Called “the big freshet of 1880”, on June 4th both northern and central Wisconsin got more rain than usual. By June 9th Stevens Point was still seeing the Wisconsin River rise; it surpassed previously known highs from both 1847 and 1866. In an attempt to control the water a dyke was built along the eastern side of the River. However, this collapsed and the city was badly flooded.
The floods continued. Even in years when there were no floods, water was slow to pass through city soil on the way to the river. Many sections of Moses Creek and Stevens Point have a barely perceptible grade, so water would linger until a fresh rainfall would push it through. By 1884 there were already three bridges crossing the slough downtown; all going north to south, they crossed Crosby, Second, and Third streets. Explosive city development in Stevens Point occurred during this time due to the power of the Wisconsin River and the expanding railroad industry; sawmills, grain mills, and businesses kept appearing downtown. Massive fires, caused by pine construction and close quarters, regularly wiped out the downtown business district. Better management of the water systems would benefit future construction and firefighting while also keeping the water in the slough and the river, instead of in business’ basements. By 1889 there was a cistern in the town square, water reservoirs across the city, and a hydrant system to provide water pressure for firefighting.
Still, the floods continued. The sawmills knew that piles of sawdust and woodchips were a fire hazard, so some mills dumped this waste into the slough. The Wisconsin Central Railroad also needed to dispose of coal ash, cinders, and trash from their railcars; they had a line that followed the east side of the Wisconsin River and went past downtown. They too threw their refuse into the slough. Residents needed to dispose of trash somewhere, and some chose the slough. Adding all of this material into the trough meant there was even less space for water, and sure enough, in 1897 strong storms caused massive flooding. The water level of the slough was so quick and so high that it swept bridges from their footings; the Second and Union street bridges collided and both needed to be replaced after the storm. All of this dumping into the slough also killed off the local fish population. Once the habitats were dead, the slough looked even worse.
Floods continued. Building owners knew that spring would mean a damp basement at the best, or a completely flooded one at the worst. In 1909 the Milldam Act was fully repealed and it was up to state agencies to regulate dams; no longer could companies allow frequent flooding near their dams without providing compensation or getting an easement from their respective agency. So much trash was being thrown into the slough that the city of Stevens Point considered installing a fence in 1910 to make it more difficult to litter there. In 1911 another flood hit. The newspaper described how the water rushed down Moses Creek, rushed into basement windows, and completely covered the downtown area. Some residents used canoes to paddle around their transformed town.
In 1916 the city of Stevens Point decided to start making some changes; why allow these floods to so greatly impact residents? They started by banning the disposal of trash in the slough. However, instead of removing the existing trash and debris, the city decided to cover the piles with leftover street and building construction waste. Good as new! They may have had public pressure on them; in 1917 U.S. Highway 18 was routed to run east to west through Stevens Point and no city official wanted to hear about visitors seeing the slough full of trash. However, for every step forward they may have taken in flood prevention, they would take other steps back. In 1917 the Jackson Milling Company built a new dam across the Wisconsin River, south of the downtown area. They did use portions of Brawley’s original dam in their construction and used the original footings from that dam as a way to extend a retaining wall along the eastern side of the river. When building the dam and the retaining wall, the river soil that was removed was piled on the eastern shore of the river by Wisconsin Street. This was a benefit; perhaps it would serve as an elevated public park in the future, and the additional soil couldn’t hurt if the river flooded again. As if to test if this makeshift dyke would stand, the Milling Company was given permission in 1918 to raise the dam height as long as they also build up their retaining walls. Only time would tell if their preparations would hold against the rush of the spring thaw.
Moses Creek Development from 1918-1979
The Jackson Milling Company had permission to keep the water flow higher for their factory and were looking forward to increased productivity. However, in 1919, the slough was flooded. It was obvious to residents that the slough was being “backed up” towards downtown, not that there was excess rain coming down the channel. A local business owner and dam builder, George Mead, looked at the situation and recommended adding city storm drains to help push water from the slough to the Wisconsin River. If we added a pump station to the end of the drains, there would be no concerns about water backing up. City traffic was increasing; state highway 66 was now routed east-west through Stevens Point, and in 1926 the north-south highway 51 was routed through town as well. Flooding could damage local businesses and be a hazard to new motorists.
But many residents were not concerned about the roads; they were concerned about the dams. In 1922 a state waterway survey came out that directly correlated the installation of dams to an increase in local flooding. Sloughs, which had been considered a main flood risk, were actually nature’s drains; taking excess surface water from marshes towards the larger rivers nearby. This revived the conversation of George Mead’s storm drains; could the slough be made more efficient?
While the conversations continued and city officials considered plans, the Consolidated Paper Company took over the Jackson Milling dam, near downtown Stevens Point. In 1931 Consolidated Paper got permission to again raise the level of the dam. But at the same time that they raised the river level, they also funded a pump station at the end of the slough, along Crosby Avenue. This pump station had two pumps that could each move 50,000 gallons per minute. The pumps made a big difference and for 16 years there were no major floods in Stevens Point.
Until 1950, that is. Excessive rains brought up the river level and when the Consolidated Paper Company opened the dam, the resulting torrent put many Plover streets underwater. In the 1970s potential flood maps of Stevens Point and Plover would show modern residents what early settlers already knew; if you live in the marsh, you need to prepare for the floods.
Pictured above are two flood maps released in the 1970s. Photos courtesy of the PCHS collections.
Stevens Point was attempting to control the flooding. In 1959, 1961, and 1963, sections of Moses Creek were encased in concrete pipes. Older metal pipes were replaced, and sewer lines were expanded. North of town, Moses Creek was allowed to flow freely until it entered UW - Stevens Point campus. The northern side of campus, with the residential halls, regularly encountered flooding and the university was interested in anything that might prevent additional damages. In the 1970s Sentry Insurance Agency proposed a new building on the north side of town. This area was a marshland and was unfit for construction. However, if Sentry could get enough local dirt to fill in the marsh, they could put their building on top. What we know as Lake Joanis sprang from this mutual need; Sentry needed the dirt for their construction and UW - Stevens Point was interested in having a lake north of campus that could collect some of the surface water that so regularly flooded the dorms. To make sure Moses Creek would not flood the future lake, the creek was rerouted to the east of the lake, and the outlet pipe for the slough was rerouted to expel water below the dam instead of above. Finally, it seemed, the floods were under control.
The land still tries to push water to the nonexistent slough. UW - Stevens Point practice athletic fields get marshy in spring and Pfiffner Park holds water much longer than other parks along the Wisconsin River. The next time you walk in Stevens Point during the spring thaw, take a moment to think about the hidden river flowing under your feet.
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