Shunganunga Creek, Kansas.
Shunganunga Creek is a stream in Shawnee County, Kansas. The Middle Kansas Watershed, comprising the northern two-thirds of Shawnee County, drains this creek along with several others. Shunganunga Creek is situated near the village of Tecumseh and the hamlet of Grantville. The greatest flood recorded on Shunganunga Creek occurred in April 1945, when the Kansas River was high. Flooding on the larger stream overshadowed the flooding on the creek, so the Shunganunga Creek flood was not adequately documented, although considerable damage occurred.
The flood of June 1951 began on June 26, when the City of Topeka received 2.7 inches of rain, which caused Shunganunga Creek to flood nine square blocks southwest of the fairgrounds. Thirty-five to forty homes and a grocery store were affected. East of Winter General Hospital, 175 homes, and one apartment building were affected. During July 1993, similar conditions mimicking the 1951 flooding season led the Kansas River, near Topeka, to crest nearly nine feet above normal flood stage. However, improved controls such as levees and water control reservoirs withstood higher water levels and limited severity as planned.
©Kathy Alexander/Legends of Kansas, updated October 2023.
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