Mississippi flood of 1973 The Morganza Spillway was opened, flooding portions of the Atchafalaya River basin in Louisiana and causing the deaths of thousands of head of livestock and white-tailed deer. The 1973 flood was notable for nearly causing the failure of the Old River Control Structure above the Mississippi River Delta, which would have sent the Mississippi's main channel flowing into the Atchafalaya River and bypassing most of the delta region including the major port of New Orleans, Louisiana. In spite of record high flows, flood stages were not as high as past events. Red River Landing, Louisiana reached 58.22 feet on May
Morganza High School School Board until being closed in 2008. The school buildings and grounds are currently used as a law enforcement training facility for the Pointe Coupee Parish Sheriff's Office. As part of a community project, the school's gymnasium was renovated in 2014 and is currently used as a community athletic facility, as well as a parish athletic hall of fame museum. John B. Fournet, later a supporter of Huey Pierce Long, Jr., Speaker of the Louisiana House of Representatives, lieutenant governor, and associate and Chief Justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court, was the principal of Morganza High School in the 1916-1917