The Mill River Flood 150 Year Commemoration
Who Was Responsible for the Mill River Disaster?
May 31, 2024 at 7:00 pm
June 1, 2024 at 1:00 pm and at 4 pm
June 1, 2024 at 1:00 pm and at 4 pm
Old Hampshire County Courthouse
99 Main Street with entrance at 15 Gothic Street, Northampton
99 Main Street with entrance at 15 Gothic Street, Northampton
A readers’ theatre presentation about the coroner’s inquest into the cause of the Mill River disaster will take place in Hampshire County’s historic courtroom. The audience will be invited to participate by reading some of the testimony and commentary from the inquest. Elizabeth Sharpe, author of In the Shadow of the Dam: The Aftermath of the Mill River Flood of 1874, will narrate.
Register: June 1, 2024 at 7 pm
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Five days after the flood, the county coroner began an inquest which lasted seven days. A jury heard a full accounting from scores of witnesses about the dam's construction and the reasons for its failure. In its verdict on July 3, the jury charged five parties with abrogating their responsibilities: 1. The Massachusetts legislature for lax laws; 2. The dam owners for privileging profit over lives; 3. The engineers for poor design; 4. The contractors for poor construction; 5. The County commissioners for lack of oversight. With so many parties named, the blame stuck to no one. No criminal or civil suits were carried out, and none of the responsible parties were penalized or held accountable.
Events Designed by These Local Organizations
Historic Northampton | Leeds Civic Association | Smith College Department of Landscape Studies
Thank you to our sponsors for their generosity
Holmberg & Howe Land Surveyors | Loven Excavating & Construction, Inc.
National Grid | Whalen Insurance | Finck & Perras Insurance Agency | Florence Bank
Daily Hampshire Gazette | Nasami Farm | Arthur King Fund | Greenfield Savings Bank
Berkshire Design Group, Inc. | O'Reilly Talbot & Okun Associates, Inc. | Florence Casket Company