‘Flood of memories:’ Week of major Teton Dam Flood 50th anniversary activities kicks off in Rexburg
David Pace
REXBURG, Idaho (KIFI) – Fifty years after a wall of water pulverized communities in the flood path of the Teton Dam, a new exhibit at Rexburg’s City Hall celebrates the resilience of residents whose lives and homes were forever altered by the dam’s collapse.
“People just feeling overwhelmed and devastated with our own flood, they said hope came when we saw people show up for us,” said Jed Platt, Cultural Arts director for the City of Rexurg.
A ribbon cutting for the “Just Add Water: The Dam that Broke Us and Built Us” exhibit on Thursday officially launched next week’s “Flood 50” of celebration and activities running from June 1 through June 6.
The brand-new exhibit digs into the flood’s impact on those directly in the water’s wake.
“If you want facts and figures, Google it,” Platt said. “If you want to go experience it, come to this exhibit.”
The interactive exhibition features stories, artifacts, models and artwork commemorating day the Teton Dam broke.
The exhibit has been moved to City Hall from the Rexburg Tabernacle as it prepares for renovations.
In addition to recognizing the past, Rexburg community members have raised more than $50,000 this year to assist people in Laie, Hawaii, who were devastated by flooding in March 2026.
“For our sister community in Laie, where homes were destroyed, there was about three or four feet of water in their homes at 1 AM,” said Kieiki Pouha, a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. “They woke up with water next to their beds. So many families were trapped in their homes, elderly that couldn’t get out, children that couldn’t get out. It was just immediate and devastating.”
The City of Rexburg will be hosting events daily next week. For a full list of activities, visit tetonflood50.org, or check out the list below.
“Next to potatoes, the best crop to come out of our soil are our stories,” Platt said. “This will be a place to share those stories. … Daily, I’m hearing new stories from people and they said, ‘I don’t think I’ve ever told anyone that story.'”
