The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1874-06-06 00:00:00

A TERRIBLE DISASTER.

The American Correspondent of The Timex, writing from
Philadelphia. May 18, gives the following particulars ,d the
terrible disaster, accompanied with groat loss of life and de-
struction of property, which occurred in Massachusetts on
the morning of May 16 :---

In central Massachusetts, about 100 miles west of
Boston, is located the valley of Mill river. This
stream—formed by the junction of two others--flows
south-eastwardly from the townships of Goshen and
Conway where they rise, and falls into the Connecticut
river some distance north of Springfield. Numerous
factories are clotted along Mill river, in five villages
known as If aydenville, Leeds, Williamsburg, Skinner-
ville, and Northampton, covering a distance of about
seven miles, the population being about 3,000 al, trig
I the inmediate borders of the stream, and probably
5,000 more on the hills further back, and about
5,000,000 clols. being invested in the various manufac-
turing operations there. The river furnishes the
power, and to render the water supply more stable,
three reservoirs have been constructed on the two
streams which join to form Mill river. These
were built several years ago, and were recently
strengthened, so that they were supposed to be
thoroughly secure. The supposition was erroneous,
however, for about 8 a.m, on the morning in question
the largest of them botke, and the flood from it seems
to have carried away a second, so that the entire mass
of water in both wa.s precipitated upon the unfortunate
valley. An observer says that when the catastrophe
first came there was no water visible, but a wall of drift
wood and rubbish of all kinds, 30 feet high and several
hundred feet wide, was seen rolling and turn! din
towards the doomed villages, and rushing forward with
irrttsistible force at a speed cif twenty miles an hour.
Everything in its course,_ from Haydenville down to
Northampton, where the Connecticut river was
reached, was swept away. Haydenville, Leeds, Skin-
nerville, and Williamsburg were the chief sufferers.
There was scarcely time to save even life, so sudden
was the catastrophe, or the flood gave no warning
excepting the heavy roar that was heard for a few
moments before it engulfed its victims. Every
bridge, building, fence, tree, or structure of any
kind on the immediate borders of the stream was
swept away. At Haydenville, fortunately, most of
the boil lint's were upon high ground, and this
saved them. At Leeds only three houses are standing.
At Skinnerville but two houses remain, there having
been 15 bridges, 19 factories, and 75 dwellings de-
stroyed. Williamsburg is about one-half destroyed.
The loss of life at each place was heavy; the bodies
of the dead being in most cases terribly mangled.
The loss of life cannot be accurately given, but is esti-
mated at 200, and the damage to property at 1,500,000
lollars. There were some miraculous escapes of persons,
who in several cases were carried long distances by
the flood. Entire families were drowned, and some
lof the scenes reported are most heartrending.
The chief manufactories destroyed are the brass
works of Measrs. Hayden, Gore, and Co., the largest
of the kind in the country; the Hayden Manufac-
turing Company's cotton mills, the Diamond tobacco
factory, the Nantuck silk mills, Northampton Brush
Company, Greenville Manufacturing I 'ompany, North-
ampton Cutlery Company, Clement and Hawke'a agri-
cultural implement mills, International Screw Com-
pany, Williana's basket factory, and the Skinner silk
mill. There were also a number of other smaller estab-
lishments destroyed, including six grist and saw
The Haydenville Savings-bank had its tire-proof safe
carried away, containing 35,000 dole, in money, besides
other valuables. The particular reservoir, the break-
ing of which caused the disaster, covered about 125
acres, and was built in 1865-6. A stone wall across
the valley retained the water, this wall being Bft.
thick at the base and 2ft, at the top, which was
elevated 42ft, alstve the Iced of the stream. Inside ,
the wall was an earthen embankment, which sloped I
down to a width of about 120 ft. at the base, and
was 15ft, wile at the top. The average depth of
water in the reservoir was 30ft. It appears that
George Cheney, the gatekeeper, was first alarmed
by seeing cracks in the retaining wall, and by the
giving way of a small portion of it, when he started
down the road Oil horseback towards the villages to
alarm the people. Ile reachetl Haydenville a few
minutes before the flood, and got the church bell
rung. At Williamsburg the waters caught up with
him, and he bad a narrow escape from being over-
whelmed. The detailed loss of life, as far as
announced, is— at Haydenville 18, Williamsburg TO,
Leeds 6!, and Skinnerville 2. A large number of '
corpses have been recovered, and some buried.
Gttvernor Talbot, of Massachusetts, is at the scene of
the disaster, and subscriptions are being taken in
various localities for the relief of the sufferers, New-
haven, Springfield, Boston, and other cities being
prominent in the work. Provisions and clothing are
also being sent forward in large quantities. Mill river
tic-clay is flowing placidly between its banks, bin on
either side the rocks, mud and debris scattered along
tell of the ruinous overflow two days ago.