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Mill River Reservoir Disaster
On May 16, 1874, an earthenwork reservoir dam in Williamsburg, Massachusetts collapsed, sending an estimated 600 million gallons of water downstream over five factory villages in the Mill River valley. The resulting floodwave destroyed and damaged factories, farms and homes along an 11-mile path in the mill villages of Williamsburg, Skinnerville, Haydenville, Leeds and Florence, ending in a broad plain in Northampton. The disaster left 139 people dead and 740 homeless. It is one of four catastrophic floods depicted in large stereographic series that sold for many years after the event. According to Elizabeth M. Sharpe, author of In The Shadow of the Dam: The Aftermath of the Mill River Flood of 1874, more than 400 stereographic views of the Mill River Disaster were marketed throughout America. William Welling, author of Photography in America, writes “in many respects the photographic coverage of this tragedy is a classic in early American news photography, for not only did photographers record the many scenes of damage but at the same time they also made photographs of the principal heroes of the event.” Presented here are 137 stereoviews of the Mill River Reservoir Disaster.Contents Historic Northampton.