The Mill River Calamity - Haydenville, MA
Posted by: 
neoc1
N 42° 22.479 W 072° 42.157
18T E 689148 N 4693931
The Mill River disaster memorial for Haydenville is located on Route 9 in front of the Williamsburg Town Clerk's Office.
Waymark Code: WMFRMD
Location: Massachusetts, United States
Date Posted: 11/24/2012
Views: 4
On May 16,1874, the collapse of a dam upstream from three villages in Williamsburg, MA took the lives of 144 people. It was the largest disaster in New England at the time. A monument in front of the Williamsburg Town Clerk's Office in the Village of Haydenville in Williamsburg describes the flood and its aftermath. It also contains a double column listing of the names of 32 victims from the Village of Haydenville who died in the resulting flood.
THE MILL RIVER CALAMITY
MAY 16, 1874
In honor of the residents of Haydenville who lost their lives from the onslaught of water which gained momentum along the 6 mile path from the broken Hampshire reservoir dam north of Williamsburg. With little warning the contents of the 90 acre reservoir thundered through the village churning debris of homes, roads, dams, bridges, Skinner and Hayden mills, people and livestock, carrying the devastation on to the village of Leeds. A total of 144 lives were lost in the three villages, 750 people were homeless and over a million dollars of damage to roads, dams, buildings and personal property.
FLOOD VICTIMS
Rosa Bessonette age 22
Joseph Bessonette 9 mo.
Francis Brodeur 20
Eli Bryant 73
Robert Hayden, Jr. 5
Christiana Hill 46
Sarah Hillman 38
Harry Hogan 50
John Kaplinger 76
Stephen Kelly 56
Mary Kelly 59
Mary Lablone 54
Mary Macy 52
Margaret Macy 52
Edmond Moakler 60
Mary Morris 56
George Miller 8
Willie Miller 1
Agnes Miller 10
Georgiana Nafroyze 14
Theresa Pouzee 45
Isabella Pouzee 22
Ilocrain Pouzee 14
Naterene Pouzee 11
Teresa Tafor
Grace Thayer 5
Freddie Thayer 8 mo.
Johanna Williams 22
Margaret Wilson 49
Matilda Wilson 10
Rose Wilson 7
Margaret Wilson 4
Sponsored by The Williamsburg Historical Commission
Funded by The Arthur King Memorial Trust Fund