Mill River Flood Stereographs
General International Standard for Archival Description
Special Collections and University Archives, W.E.B. Du Bois Library, University of Massachusetts Amherst
Encoded Archival Description
Encoded Archival Description (EAD) Version 2002
collection
Creation of Mill River Flood Stereographs
Time of Creation of Mill River Flood Stereographs
Knowlton Brothers.
Biographical History for: Mill River Flood Stereographs
Historical Note Site of Wm. Miller's Silk Mill, Skinnerville The Mill River flood of 1874 was one of the great man-made disasters of late nineteenth century western Massachusetts. Early in the century, the combination of high hills and rapid water encouraged the construction of a string of mills up and down the Mill River Valley, with as many as six mill villages rising up to take advantage of the cheap and abundant source of power. Factories for the production of silk and woolen cloth, buttons, brass and iron, and a variety of other products lined the banks of the river, supporting a growing population of workers. By the 1860s, mill owners began to recognize that the natural, seasonal variation in water level in the Mill River could be evened out by damming the river, and in 1864, they began work on constructing a large earthenwork dam just above the town of Williamsburgh. Weighing the cost of the project, however, they decided to economize by designing and building the dam themselves, and cutting further corners and cost during the actual construction. Despite complaints from the surveyor and workers that these measures were potentially compromising to public safety, work continued, and even the presence of leaks when the dam was first filled in 1866 did little to slow the project. Following heavy rains on May 16, 1874, disaster struck. When the dam collapsed, 600,000,000 gallons were sent coursing downstream in a wall of water nearly 40 feet high in places. Despite efforts to warn the residents downstream, few heard the warning, and fewer still heeded it. When the waters finally subsided, 139 bodies were strewn in its wake, with nearly total devastation of the factories and homes, bridges and roads. In following days and weeks, the state government, for one of the few times in its history, stepped in to lend $120,000 assistance to rebuild the infrastructure, and despite a coroner's inquest that laid clear culpability for the disaster on the shoulders of the mill owners and engineers, no one was ever brought to account.
Acquired from unknown source, 1994.
Scope and Contents of the Collection The nineteen images in the Mill River Flood collection are a small sampling of a series of 110 stereographs taken by the Knowlton Brothers of Northampton to document the devastation caused by the flood of May 1874. The collection also includes one view taken by F. J. Moore of Westfield, who issued his own series of 21 stereographs, and one by an unidentified photographer.
The collection is open for research.
See Sharpe, Elizabeth M., In the Shadow of the Dam: The Aftermath of the Mill River Flood of 1874 (Free Press, 2004).
Processed by Dex Haven, August 2009.
Floods--Massachusetts--Mill River Valley (Hampshire County)--Photographs.
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usmu
Moore, F. J.
Mill River Valley (Hampshire County, Mass.)--Photographs.
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item
No. 4. View from below Reservoir, showing break in both walls
Creation of No. 4. View from below Reservoir, showing break in both walls
Time of Creation of No. 4. View from below Reservoir, showing break in both walls
Knowlton Brothers
Children's class: Margaret Perrin -- Miss A. Lee
No. 12. View at Williamsburgh Reservoir
Creation of No. 12. View at Williamsburgh Reservoir
Time of Creation of No. 12. View at Williamsburgh Reservoir
No. 13. View of Geo. Cheney on his horse
Creation of No. 13. View of Geo. Cheney on his horse
Time of Creation of No. 13. View of Geo. Cheney on his horse
No. 42. View showing ruins of Engine, etc., at Skinnerville
Creation of No. 42. View showing ruins of Engine, etc., at Skinnerville
Time of Creation of No. 42. View showing ruins of Engine, etc., at Skinnerville
No. 57. View at Haydenville: Site of Hayden, Gere and Co.'s Brass Shops from above
Creation of No. 57. View at Haydenville: Site of Hayden, Gere and Co.'s Brass Shops from above
Time of Creation of No. 57. View at Haydenville: Site of Hayden, Gere and Co.'s Brass Shops from above
No. 71. View in Main St., Leeds, wreck of engine house
Creation of No. 71. View in Main St., Leeds, wreck of engine house
Time of Creation of No. 71. View in Main St., Leeds, wreck of engine house
No. 76. Quigley's house, Leeds, from the west
Creation of No. 76. Quigley's house, Leeds, from the west
Time of Creation of No. 76. Quigley's house, Leeds, from the west
No. 81. Ruins of Geo. P. Warner's Button Factory, Leeds, from the west
Creation of No. 81. Ruins of Geo. P. Warner's Button Factory, Leeds, from the west
Time of Creation of No. 81. Ruins of Geo. P. Warner's Button Factory, Leeds, from the west
No. 84. Ruins of Stone Bridge, Leeds
Creation of No. 84. Ruins of Stone Bridge, Leeds
Time of Creation of No. 84. Ruins of Stone Bridge, Leeds
No. [88]. View at Leeds: View looking up Leeds St., near Button Shop
Creation of No. [88]. View at Leeds: View looking up Leeds St., near Button Shop
Time of Creation of No. [88]. View at Leeds: View looking up Leeds St., near Button Shop
No. [95]. View at Leeds: Workmen searching for bodies near Cook's dam
Creation of No. [95]. View at Leeds: Workmen searching for bodies near Cook's dam
Time of Creation of No. [95]. View at Leeds: Workmen searching for bodies near Cook's dam
No. 99. View of Hayden, Gere and Co.'s Brass Shops, Haydenville before the flood
Creation of No. 99. View of Hayden, Gere and Co.'s Brass Shops, Haydenville before the flood
Time of Creation of No. 99. View of Hayden, Gere and Co.'s Brass Shops, Haydenville before the flood
No. [101]. View at Haydenville: View of Hayden, Gere and Co.'s Band Building and Office
Creation of No. [101]. View at Haydenville: View of Hayden, Gere and Co.'s Band Building and Office
Time of Creation of No. [101]. View at Haydenville: View of Hayden, Gere and Co.'s Band Building and Office
No. 105. Cook's Dam and Iron Bridge, Leeds, before the flood
Creation of No. 105. Cook's Dam and Iron Bridge, Leeds, before the flood
Time of Creation of No. 105. Cook's Dam and Iron Bridge, Leeds, before the flood
No. [107]. View at Leeds: Leeds from the Hill
Creation of No. [107]. View at Leeds: Leeds from the Hill
Time of Creation of No. [107]. View at Leeds: Leeds from the Hill
Site of Wm. Skinner's Silk Mills, Skinnerville
Creation of Site of Wm. Skinner's Silk Mills, Skinnerville
Time of Creation of Site of Wm. Skinner's Silk Mills, Skinnerville
View in Leeds Street
Creation of View in Leeds Street
Time of Creation of View in Leeds Street
No. 10. Hayden, Gere and Co's. Brass Foundry
Creation of No. 10. Hayden, Gere and Co's. Brass Foundry
Time of Creation of No. 10. Hayden, Gere and Co's. Brass Foundry
Cove at Williamsburgh were 20 bodies were found
Creation of Cove at Williamsburgh were 20 bodies were found
Time of Creation of Cove at Williamsburgh were 20 bodies were found
Unidentified photographer