WILLIAMSBURG, Mass. (WWLP) – Thursday marks 150 years since the Mill River flood in Hampshire County.
Heavy rainfall caused flooding along Mill River in Florence It happened in 1874 when a dam in the Mill River collapsed sending 600 million gallons of water rushing through the towns of Williamsburg, Haydenville, and Leeds. The flood wave was said to be 40 feet high in some places, and 139 people died in the rush.
“The dam was shoddily built, it was always leaking and after nine years of life it finally gave way fortunately at 7:00 in the morning so the watchman was able to witness this, leaped on his horse, and came riding down three miles right into this street,” said Retired Professor John Connolly.
Church bells ran every ten minutes on Thursday at churches across Hampshire County to honor those victims. It started at 12:10 p.m. marking the moment the dam fell.
- 12:10 p.m. Williamsburg Congregational Church
- 12:20 p.m. Haydenville Congregational Church
- 12:30 p.m. Our Lady of the Hills, Haydenville
- 12:40 p.m. Leeds Chapel
- 12:50 p.m. Florence Congregational Church
- 1:00 p.m. Smith College Bells, Mendenhall Tower
- 1:10 p.m. Northampton Churches
- 1:20 p.m. Smith College Handbell Choir (in front of First Churches)
- 1:30 p.m. United Congregational Church in Holyoke
“We thought instead of having all the churches ring their bells at the same time, we would do it in this cascade as a way of mimicking the movement of the flood down the valley,” said Connolly.
The commemoration was held to honor those who died in the Mill River flood and to bring awareness to floods that have taken place recently and the potential for more flooding in the future.
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