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May 1874

S.-17
P.
Mr Buckingham preached
Heard the news of the great castrophe
the breaking of the reservoir in Williamsburg
Teams have been runing all day to visit the scene
18
W
es-day- Plowed rest of garden. In shop &c.
19
C.
Picking stones from grass. In garden- sowed Beans
Peas, Mr L. ado E time-Sage-Ed plowing fitting land for corn
Sent 1 pair 2 Yr old Steers to Hawley to be pasture
by Albert Stebbins & co. at 25c Each, per week-
20
C.
Lt sprinkles- Cultivating & bushing corn land.
G of 1/2 ton Plaster at Steam mill.
Ed. went with others to Northampton digging &c
Searching for the dead from the great catastrophe
21
R
ainy day. In shop making wheel barrow.
Ed sifted ashes for corn &c
22
P.
Cool- Reparing stone bridge in house cor
Zucker worked 2 1/2 hours-
23
P.
Planted 1 3/4 @ Corn over hollow with planter putting
ashes & plaster in hill- went to Greenfield with Fanny & Ed
S. 24
C.
Cool- Mr. Buckingham preached
25
R
ainy day- Packing our tobacco- filling up boxes.
26
C.
Finished packing Tobacco in fine order 4089 pd
27
P.
Weeding tobacco bed first time.
28
P.
Very Warm. Ed carting manure on Beige? pr for tobacco
Attended auction sale John H Stebbins Personal property. Clark Allis & Judith here.

 

(c) Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, Deerfield MA. All rights reserved.
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label levels:

There is currently no available "Beginner" label. The following is the default level label: Josiah Allen, of Deerfield, Massachusetts, heard the news of the Mill River flood in church the next day. That afternoon, his neighbors readied their teams of horse and oxen to drive them to the stricken region where they would be used to pull away flood debris, such as trees, roofs, and boulders, so that men could search for bodies. His son Ed volunteered (like thousands of others) two days later to search and clear wreckage. Since the disaster occurred during planting season, Mr. Allen had to continue his farm chores of planting and weeding. When the Williamsburg reservoir dam broke on May 16, 1874, it flooded a valley lined with factories and farms and killed 139, making it the deadliest dam failure in the U.S. at the time.

 

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Page from Josiah Allen diary regarding Mill River Disaster Flood

author   Josiah Allen (1814-1895)
date   May 17, 1874
location   Wapping, Deerfield, Massachusetts
width   6.5"
height   7.75"
process/materials   manuscript, paper, ink
item type   Personal Documents/Diary
accession #   #L05.005


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See Also...

Page from Amasa Jones diary regarding Mill River Disaster Flood

"Harper's Weekly Journal of Civilization" illustrations of Mill River Disaster Flood

"The Mill River Disaster" article from the Journal of Industry newspaper


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