Historical Society of Middleton
Annual Meeting and Program
Saturday, February 21, 2026, 1:00 pm
Middleton United Methodist Church
104 E. Main Street
Life Along a River
Historical records for Middleton dating back to Noah and the Ark don’t exist, but down
through the years, there have been some flooding issues that we do have information about.
We know that flooding in the Treasure Valley was a regular occurrence before the dams on the Boise River were built.
From Middleton: In Picture and Story we learn this: “After contemplating the proposed
moving of the village of Old Middleton for five or six years, it was finally accomplished in 1880-1881. It was not much closer to the flour mill on North Dewey Avenue, but at least the flooding of the Boise River every spring would not cut the settlers off from the mill and other places.”
In 1943 Boise River flows of 25,000 cubic feet per second were recorded. (As of this
writing, the river is flowing at 275 cfs.) A 2017 article in the Idaho Statesman by Rocky Barker recounts the memories of a young Boise boy in 1943 who watched with his family as water poured over Arrowrock Dam and rushed down the Boise River into Boise, what is now Garden City, and miles of farm land to the west.
Middleton faced serious flooding problems in 1979. Then-Mayor Alice Lanning called
the Governor’s Office, seeking a disaster declaration. The Governor dispatched a National
Guard helicopter to help her survey the damage. Then she stayed up until 2:00 a.m. calling
Willow Creek Subdivision residents to warn them a flood was coming their way. Harmon
Subdivision had water up to the level of the kitchen cabinets. The photo below shows nearby Roadside Park at that time. A main contributor to that flood was 12-inch-deep ice that had formed in Willow Creek, blocking it from draining early spring run off. At the bridge near the current Middle School, dynamite blasts were used to dislodge the ice from around the bridge which was acting as a dam. Water was diverted into the Middle School parking lot, while students loaded and carried hundreds of sandbags to surround vulnerable buildings in town.
Midwinter rains in January, 1983 once again threatened homes in low-lying areas of
town and created a 12-inch-deep lake in the school parking lot. Ice in Willow Creek again
blocked drainage until dynamite crews could clear it out. Blasts were also set off near what was then the high school football field and near the bridge on Concord.
With this year’s unusually dry conditions, flooding worries are not on the minds of
Middleton residents. However, we can all look back to the days of 1880 when the town was
moved, by attending this year’s Historical Society Annual Meeting and Program featuring
humorist and motivational speaker Louis B. Katz, when he presents “We Moved It Before. We Can Move It Again.” The Annual Meeting and
Program will be held Saturday, February 21, 1:00
pm at the Middleton United Methodist Church,
104 E. Main Street. The program is free, and
everyone is invited.
Lee Moberly Museum 