Iowa voter. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1867-1874, 1874-05-21
THE IOWA VOTER.
Destructive Flood.

Destructive Flood.
Several towns wereinundated, over
one hundred lives lost and one mil
lion dollars worth of property de-
stroyed by flood from an artificial
source, in Massachusetts last Satur-
day morning. The following clip
pinps from the voluminous dispatches
will give some idea of the extent OF
the great disaster:
HAYDENvILLE, MASS, May TO-
a large reservoir north of this vii
lage, broke this morning and the
water rushed down the hills and
struck the northwestern and north
eastern portions of Williamsburg,
tearing away a large number OF
dwellings. Reaching Skinnerville it
demolished SINNERS silk mills and
a number of houses. The Hayden
brass mandatory was swept off,
with large amount of machinery.
The inmates of the houses could not
escape, ..and many We're crushed and
drowned. In Leeds large number
of shops and houses were carried
away, causing great loss Of life, whole
families being carried over the dams,
while tenement blocks were swept
down the streams. Thus far %
bodies have recovered, and more
are arriving constantly.
SPRINGFIELD, May l6.-The dam
age to property consequent upon the
breaking of the reservoir at Goshen
will amount to hundreds of thou
sands The loss Of life cannot be es-
timated yet. Reports of the disaster
accumulate and the loss of life, appears
far greater even at Florence than at
williamsburg. The flood swept
away SINNERS factory with several
womeI operatives.
The Goshen reservoir covered $50
acres of ground. and had an average
depth of thirty feet. 1t was drawn
upon in dry times to supply the mills
at williamsburg, Hogdensville, and
Florence. The reservoir was con-
structpd about twelve years ago to
secure sufficient water for the various
factories ON Mill river, which is one
of the most uncertain streams,
liable to floods and almost
utter drourh, 1t was built by CAPT
talists interested i'm the various man
ufacturing enterprises on the stream,
and has caused them approximations
of disaster several times. Last year
the reservoir was repaired at a heavy
expense, and was supposed to be per-
fectly secure, although it had seemed
to he leaky.
Boston, May 16.-At Skinnerville,
Hayden, Moore d Co.'S store and the
Haydenviile Savings Bank building,
with the safe, were swept away. The
safe contained $50, 900. +. NJ. Graves
and T.. Ames' stores and several
houses, the LOOMS Hotel, Hayden
q Co.'s. tobacco factory and two iron
bridges were also swept away. At
Leeds a terrible loss of life took
place. At first no water appeared,
but a seeming wall of driit-Wood,
thirty feet high and several hundred
feet wide, appeared, sweeping down
the Valley at the rate OF twenty
miles an hour. A portion of Mon
tague's silk factory was carried off
with the brick boarding house Of
Capt. Vaughn, depot master, and d
large number of women and children
were ettguifedi Try tire torrent. Only
the chimney is left Of the silk mill
The Crutrhland button mill and
stores are all gone; only three houses
are left standing. The loss
is estimated at one million dollars.
A. z. Crutchland and son-in-law
George Warmers loss, one hundred
thousand dollars; Nonotuck silk
company, twenty-five thousand dol
lars; w. III. Quigley, ten thousand
dollars town of Northampton loses
fifty six thousand dollars in bridges
and woods. Loss at williamsburg
and Haydenville cannot at present
be estimated. III. l.. James Wooden
mill is still standing, also the Hay
den manufacturing cotton mill. On
~ two houses are left standing In
Skinnersville. Fifteen bridges, IL
factories and Is buildings have gone
down, and 400 people are left home
less. A late dispatch says 100 lives
were lost and upwards of 100000
in property and treasure.
At Williamsburg, 62 lives We're
lost; at Leeds, 80; at Haydenville,
"a. Fifty to sixty bodies have al
ready been recovered.