Gracie L. and Freddie G. Thayer - Greenfield, MA
Posted by: 
neoc1
N 42° 34.853 W 072° 36.248
18T E 696610 N 4717056
Both Gracie L. and Freddie G. Thayer drowned in the Mill River Flood Disaster in Williamsburg, MA of May 16, 1874. They are buried in section 7 plot 405 in Green River Cemetery at 56 Wisdom Way in Greenfield, MA.
Waymark Code: WM149MG
Location: Massachusetts, United States
Date Posted: 05/25/2021
Views: 2
The grave of Gracie L. and Freddie G. Thayer is marked by a small headstone which is inscribed:
GRACIE L.
AGED 3 YEARS 2 MOS
FREDDIE G.
AGED 5 MOS.
Drowned in the
Mill River Flood
MAY 16, 1874.
Children of
E.E. & M.L. THAYER
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 of Williamsburg was devastated in the largest disaster in New England of its time.
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