By PHYLLIS ZORN

Staff writer

A concrete slab with a wooden frame on the top along the sidewalk west of Central Park is where a sign will stand to commemorate historic Marion flooding.

Limestone rocks will soon be added to the wooden frame, then the sign will be added to the structure.

The sign was donated to the city by Kansas Department of Agriculture, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Department of Homeland Emergencies, and Silver Jackets.

Silver Jackets is a state-led interagency program dedicated to reducing flooding risk and enhancing response and recovery when floods occur.

Marion’s sign, on schedule to be unveiled the week of Old Settlers’ Day, features a historic photo of a 1903 flood, the deepest documented flood in Marion, with water depth reaching 4½ feet inside Main St. buildings.

The bottom of the sign, when erected, will be set at the level floodwater reached in a 1951 flood that caused $750,000 worth of damage — equivalent to $7,318,907 in 2018 dollars.