The Newberry herald. [volume] (Newberry, S.C.) 1865-1884, 1874-05-27
The ReservoSr Flood.

~ 1'i''i"-'UHi d -'-"'H7.: "'iSii W. wa
structed to supply the manufactorie:
Of Williamsburg, Leeds and Hadcn
Vile. The above named towns wcr,
almost eatireIy destroyed:
Boston, May l6.AHon. Stephen
Crosby, of Williamsburg, furnishes
the following description Of the locaIi.
ties and property visited BY the ever,
fiog :>.1 ..l,.ssAfa 'l...
The --il!agcs which are affected by
the disaster are Williamsburg, Hay.
denTille, Leeds, and Florence, and are
Situated On Mill river, which is tri,
butasy Of the Connecticut river: run
Mug into the latter at Northampton
Ia, the village Of Williamsburg Nil!
river divides into two branches, one
Of which has its rise in Goshen, and
the e>other about the edge of Conway.
Two large reservoirs are situated on
Goshen branch, and one on Conway
branch, containing L total depth Of not
less than six feet.
The reservoir dams were all most
substantially constructed; built by
skillful engineers in the most APPROX
ed aud. modern method, and large
sums have been expended during the
last year in putting them n what was
supposed to be perfect order. Tie old
est dam is supposed to be at least
twenty-five years of age, and is on
Goshen branch. 1t was most careful
ly rebuilt within the last two years.
Above this was new dam, built last
year.
The dam on Conway branch is
about six. or seven years old. The
mills on the stream reckoning from
Williamsburg down to Northampton.
are as follows: William Thayer's tool
factory, twenty-five men, and button
factories, together employing thirty
hands. men and girls; the corset wool
en- mill: of Henry James employs
about fifty hands; the large brass
works Of Hayden: Gere & Co. employ
about three hundred hands, and is
perhaps the largest and best appointed
factory Of the kind in the United
States. It was formerly the property of
late Lieutenant t-Govcrncr Hayden the
cotton mill Of Hayden Manufacturing g
Company, 5000 spindles, employing
about seventy-fve oreighty hands; the
Diamond Tobacco Works, employing
fifteen or twenty hands; the two extea-
<iye silk mills of Nonotuck Silk Com
pany employing 800 hands il all the
large brick mill Of Northampton Brush
Company, employing about sixty Or
seventy-fve hands,. the cotton nili Of
Greenville Manufacturing Company.
5000 spindles, employing seyenty-fye
or eighty hands; the Northampton
formerly Bay State) Cutlery Com
pany Mill, employing probably two
hundred hands; the Clement 4
Hawkes. Manufacturing Company Mill,
agricultural implements, employing
fifty hands.
The international Screw aud Nail
Company, employing seventy-6ve
hands. and the large basket factory of
the Williams Manufacturing Com
pany, employing about one hundred
hands; also SINNERS silk mill, en-
ploying about fifty or sixty hands.
Besides the foregoing, there are some
half dozen srist and saw mills, some
Of them Of considerable capacity,
which are within the range ofdevasta-
ton. The manufacturing capital in
vested along Mil river and affected
by this disaster, placing it at low es-
innate, must be $4,000, 900, and the
Immediate population affected thereby
about 5000. The population is al
most wholly manufacturing, all Of
which has grown up around the dams,
and increased in proportion to the de-
.nands of industry in that locality.
BosToN. May ia later dispatch
SAYS that POO lives have been lost. and
upwards Of 100000 in property
and treasure swept away.
WASHINGTON, May lS.-Thc de-
tails Of the food are healtreuding. It
is feared that many Canadians, who
who recently arrived to work on the
factories, are lost.
The watchmal who discovered the
danger roGe down til: valley, making
three miles in fifteen minutes, shout
ing thealarnl. Here milkman, with
feet horse, dashed ahead of the food
some two minutes. He beat it in
crossing bridge scarcely twenty
seconds, and. speeding on, screamed
':thc reservoir is comiag."' This he
Yoic nliikmau saved hundreds Of per
sons, vino fed from their homes and
breakfasts for the slopes. The food
rushed by, carrying human beings,
houses, great iron bodies, huge trees.
COWS. horses, poultry; pianos and bird
cages upon its crest.
SpRINCryELp, May l2.-The man
who took IN the CIV at Haydcnvillc
and carried it to Leeds WAS Nyron
lHav. \ little before s o'clock, while
all the people OF this place were just
Going to work Or finishing their break
faStS, their attention was attracted by
the appearance OF Myron Day, froia
iIaydeuville, on a horse. shouting
wildly: "IIc reservoir is brokc'.
Save vourSelvrS, for the food IS At
hand" He rushed for the bridge
over the dam, and had got about half
way over it when the roar Q: the conf
::.g waters was heard by the irhabit-
%ntS, who by this Si.le stood At their
,ioor steps. He dashed toward Flor
,nce, and the people looked north. To-
ward tie North dam. and saw there
1hat seemed to them on cAor.aous
moving wcodpile 80 feet Gish. They
knew what it Was, aud rushed wildly
,,p the Slopes to safe quartyr>. Their
h~;;sss were left just as they stood,
with tables spread FOR breakfast, and
children getting ready for school. In
less than three minutes the stone dam
had given away, and the great column