The Christian Munsee Indians influenced early settlement of this area. The town of Ottawa has a history of flooding due to the Marais Des Cygnes river. One of the first big floods which was noted happened in 1844, twenty years before the cities founding in 1864. No official measurements were taken, though was estimated to be at 40 feet. A flood in 1928 had a crest point of 38.65 in which 6 people died. Other flood years include 1904, with a crest of 35.8 feet; 1909, cresting at 36.3 feet; 1915, cresting at 31 feet, and 1944 cresting at 36.5 feet. However, it is the Great Flood of 1951 which is the most famous. It was about five inches higher than the 1928 flood. The flood of 1951 affected much of Missouri and Kansas and 41 people died. 1/3 of Ottawa was covered because of this flood. It is unlikely that Ottawa will suffer major damage due to a flood again thanks to a series of levees and pumping stations built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the 1960s. It is actually part of a larger system of flood systems to regulate the Marais Des Cygnes river all the way to the Missouri River. The levees built along the river are inspected on an annual basis to insure their quality. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottawa%2C_Kansas