Wilmington daily commercial., 1874-05-19
The mlII River Flood.


TERRIBLE cArAsrBopaE-150 TO 200 LIVES
LOST,
The statement that the reservoirs on Mill Riy-
or, in Western Massachusetts,, had burst, caus-
ing great loss. OF llfe was printed in the tele-
graphic department OF the COMMERCIAL, on Sat-
trday. TT @
Mill River, the cause and scene of the disaster.
is narrow stream which rises in the town of
Williamsburg and runs aoutheastery until it emp
ties into the Connecticut just below Northamp-
ton. On its banks are situated the manufacture
ing villages of Williamsburg, Skinnersville, Hay
denvlle, Leeds, Florence, and Bay State Mills.
The first three are in the town of Williamsburg,
and the last three in Northampton. The river
IN the summer being subject TO severe drouths,
the volume of water ~ kept uniform by two great
reservoirs. one az Goshen and the other at Will
liamsburg. The valley of the river is peculiar in
lts formation, being very narrow, and not over 600
feet wide at any place. At Skinnersville and
Leeds it extremely narrow. The river is liza
ole TO sudden freshtts, and, owing to its narrow
valley, rises to great eight
The Williamsburg Reservoir has always been
jnsidered unsafe, and in times of flood serious
lpprehenHions have been felt by the dwellers in
tue valley. A young gentleman in Haydenville
seated that two years ago, at tile time OF heavy
rain, his father would permit none Of the family
90 go bed, but kept them up, with lights burning
all night, 30 great was his apprehension concern-
g the reservoir. The reservoir is in the village
If Williamsburg. The two branches of the riv-
| OF meet the west branch coming from Goshen
| and the east branch from the Williamsburg res
eryoir. it had an area of lOA acres, aud it was
made by dalnming up a -xnllar shetssseo- rt7oo,
mountains The dafn y wide at the bottouf
sY,I,fie krahuay to the top. 1t consisted OF an
| embankment of ordinary gravel, in the centre OF
| which rose wall of masonry of ordinary rubble-
| stone laid in waterproof cement. This wall was
| four feet wide at the base, and tapered wedge
like almost to point at the top. Az tne TOP ana
| through the centre of the dam extended a 10
| inch iron pipe, about so feet long. The waste
| water ran out of the reservoir at the top through
| a suce-way on the right close to which was the
| gate-keeper's house. ,
The great defect seems to have been in the
wall of masonry at the dam also i'll Its width
and material. This wall, it now appears. wal
| laid on the solid rock bed on the west side, bul
| on the east the foundation was several feel
higher, and appeared to be laid OH nothing bu
the natural gravel 1t was here that the waite
was first seen leaking through the bottom. Her
was the fatal error Of the constructors.
This reservoir burst suddenly, between ant
o'clock, on Saturday morning, and the water
we're hurled with tremendous violence upon tn
villages below, while some OF the nhabltant
were not yet astir.
The southern half of the village of Williams
burg was almost obliterated. Thence the torren
swept over Skinnersville, Haydenville and Leeds
destroying all the principal factories, and nun
DER of dwelling houses. The disaster WAS
sudden that hardly anybody had time to get Oh
| Of its path.
The Hood poured through the narrow gorg
formed by the hills on each side of Mill Rive
iemolishing everything before it, and carryin
down an awful debris of shattered timbers, brt
aen machinery, uprooted trees, and mangle
corpses At Florence, five miles below William
Durg, the country becomes more open, and thel
the torrent spread itself over the meadows, III
so spent its force,
. From l5O to 200 lives are lost by the disaste
while the damage to property is estimated
from one to two millions.