Mile 55.0 - RBD Junior Crevasse

55 RBD Junior Crevasse

The steamship Inspector was passing Junior Plantation on April 23, 1927, bound for the mouth of the Mississippi. As the ship fought the currents of the greatest flood ever experienced on the river, the pilot suddenly lost control of his ship. The prow of the Inspector swung to the right, the vessel lurched forward, and the boat buried her nose in the levee. The pilot, dismayed by the mishap, tried desperately to keep the vessel jammed in the levee to reduce the flow of water through the gap she had made. Currents caught the stern of the vessel, swinging it around violently and gouging out an even bigger hole in the levee. The gap widened rapidly, and soon flood waters were pouring over the plantations below. The ship remained grounded in the levee for several weeks, preventing any attempt to close the crevasse until long after the flood had ended. (Braggs)