The story of Soldiers Grove is made up of chapters about Kickapoo River floods. Heavy rains can transform the gentle river into a raging torrent. The old town, which sat along the banks of the Kickapoo, was devastated by floods in 1909, 1912, 1917, and 1935. A disastrous flood damaged the town in 1951, while Soldiers Grove and other river towns awaited Federal flood control. Then in July of 1978, the Kickapoo delivered the largest flood to date. The record stood unbroken until 2007, when the river conveyed its worst. And unbelievably, that record was broken less than one year later, in 2008.