Annie R. Kingsley - Haydenville, MA
Posted by: 
neoc1
N 42° 22.578 W 072° 42.052
18T E 689287 N 4694118
The grave of Annie R. Kingsley and that of her two young children, who drowned in flood resulting from the Mill River Dam Disaster, is located in High Street Cemetery in Haydenville, MA.
Waymark Code: WMWC5T
Location: Massachusetts, United States
Date Posted: 08/12/2017
Views: 0
Annie R. Kingsley was killed when the house and barn of Willard Williams slammed into their home. She was swept away along with her two young children - Lyman, 1 yr. 4 mos. old, and Nellie, 3 yrs 7 mos. old.
The grave of Annie R. Kingsley is marked by a gray marker which is inscribed:
ANNIE R.
AE. 25 yrs.
Wife &
Children of
E.D. Kingsley
All drowned in
the great flood
May 16, 1874
In 1865 The Hampshire Reservoir Company build a dam three miles north of Williamsburg, MA on the east branch of the Mill River. The dam was built for corporate mill owners for the sum of $35,000. It was 42 feet above the bed of the stream, holding back 90 acres of water with an average depth of 24 feet.
On May 16, 1874, the dam collapsed. It was determined at an inquest that poor supervision and faulty workmanship of the contractor, caused the dam to give way. Water swept down through Williamsburg and the villages of Haydenville, Leeds, and Skinnerville. The disaster cost included: 144 lives lost, 750 people were made homeless, and damage to buildings, personal property, bridges, dams, roads, factories, and mills amounted to over one million dollars. One third Williamsburg was devastated in the largest disaster in New England of its time.
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