In 1918, rising waters of the Yellowstone River flooded Forsyth for two and a half weeks, rushing into the west end and inundating the entire town north of the Northern Pacific Railroad tracks. As the waters peaked, shallow-draft Jon boats became the most reliable transportation because automobiles bogged down in mud and their engines were disabled by water. Before antibiotics and other medications were available, residents feared diseases such as malaria, cholera, typhoid, and dysentery. In the autumn and winter of 1918-1919, Forsyth also lost many citizens to the Spanish flu pandemic, and these two catastrophes were the main motivators for construction of the town's first public hospital within the next five years. The hospital was state-of-the-art for its time and no expense was spared, though by then the economy had turned and times were hard. Even in the face of disaster, children found entertainment in a precariously overloaded Jon boat in front of the Andrew and Ellen Thurston home, which stood on the corner of 14th and River Street and suffered only a flooded basement.