St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1877-04-06
Another Mill River.
THE BURSTING OF THE DAM AT STAT
FORDVILLE.

THE BURSTING OF THE DAM AT STAF-
FORDVILLE.
We had simply time last week to
record the bursting of another reservoir
dam-this time at Staffordville, Ct, and
the destruction of much property and
the loss of three lives. The following
is more detailed account
The Staffordville Reservoir Company's
dam on the east branch of the Will
mantle River gave way at g O'Clock
Tuesday morning, and the most dis
astrOus flood that ever occurred in
Connecticut was the result. The dam
has been standing some years, but last
fall the owners added six feet to its
hight, the work being done by Jordan
& Sons of Willimantic. The residents
of the valley have never liked the
change, and it is said the owners had
doubts of the safety of the work, for
they have never, since it was finished,
allowed the reservoir to rise to its full
hight. They put in an immense cast
iron waste-pipe four feet i'll diameter to
carry off the surplus, and the filling of
the reservoir was caused by the recent
heavy rains, and not because of any in
tention of the owners to fill it. The
body of water covered about 600 acres.
At the first test the dam went to pieces,
as had been prOphesied by those
who said it was made of frozen gravel
and built too hastily. The leak was
discovered on Monday, and the work
men were busy all day and night filling
in about the waste-pipe. Their efforts
weIe useless, and ut $50 o'clock Tues
day morning the work was abandoned.
The water then gained SO rapidly that
in Il few minutes the pipe was shot out
of its place, the dam opened, and the
food burst forth.
Mr.. E. c. Pinney of the GlenyIlle
Manufacturing Company mounted a
horse and rode ahead of the flood to
waln the inhabitants of the valley.
The dam stood in narrow gorge,
and below there, for the stream runs
through Il narrow course at the upper
dam, were the satinet mills of Z. A.
Converse & Co., the shOddy mill of
Jacob Basch and the machine shop of
Samuel Amidon. Next were the Hyde
vile Phoenix Mills, making cassimeres.
! Three and half miles further down
were the Glen Manufacturing COmpany's
mills ut Glenville, making cotton warpS,
and the Converseville Manufacturing
COmpany's mills. These two ale i'll the
upper part of Stafford Springs. Below
them was that village, and i'll it were
the Granite Mills, run by Geo. NJ. Ives,
making cotton goods. The water, which
grew greater in volume by the absOrp
i tiOn of the successive ponds, as each
lower dam was carried off moved ut the
rate of five miles an hour, and from the
time of Mr.. Pinney's warning up to the
arrival of the water the people were
busy in removing their property. Little,
however, was rescued. When the water
burst out of the reservoir it struck and
carried off a side building by the Con-
verse Mills, the dwelling house of Otis
HolbrOok, and two bridges. 1t left the
mill and Basch's mill unhurt. Turning
with the channel, it destroyed AmadOn's
machine shop, several tenements, and
the house of Farley Howe.
Then the dams of the Phoenix Com
pany, Howe Company, and Valley Com
pany tore away, though the mills We're
not hurt. Growing greater, the volume
/, of water, reaching Stafford Hollow, tore
away an iron bridge, grist mill, and
several old bridges. Making a new
channel by Beebe's store, it cut through
the highway passage 35 feet deep and
spread over the meadow below there,
but was gathered again at a gorge hall
mile above the borough of Stafford
Springs. Here it carried off the Glen
COmpany's dam, but the mills and tene-
ments escaped.
From here a mass about 30 feet high
made up of debris as much as water
came rolling to the dam of the Con-
verseville Company. The people, who
had gathered in large numbers, acted
like crazy persons, and in some cases
had to be carried to places of safety
The Converse Mill was not destroyed
but the dam went and also the dam OF
the Granite Mill.
The mill building was flooded and
somewhat undermined but did not fall
Eight tenements belonging to this com,
pany were knocked over and literally
ground to pieces. They disappeared ol
were ruined. The store of L. w. Crane
J the Stafford National Bank building
, containing also the savings bank, Ban.
ter & Heald's block, the building of the
Home Mutual Fire Insurance Company
the Congregational Church, the two.
story warehouse of G. o. Cleveland, the
livery stables of Levi Gerry and Gerry
Brothers, the wareroOms of William
Smith g. Co., clock dealers; the Goa
, and lumber yard of C. J. Holmes, the
] freight depot, the town hall. the engine
! house, quarter of mile of track and
, Is loaded freight cars were swept away
D The flood set back in West Main stree
J. as far as Warren Block, flooding the
3. basement occupied by Bidewell & Smitl
as a market. A large crowd watched
/ the flood, all being warned, but few
thought it would prove so serious. The
t Phoenix Mills lost from 5000 to $40,
D 600 worth of wool at the depot.
t The accident is terrible blow to the
0 industries of this valley. About I,00(