Photo Record
Images
Metadata
Object |
Stereograph |
Photographer |
Dart, Calvin |
Date |
1869 |
Print size (inches) |
7" X 3.5" |
Location |
Vermont, Bennington, North Street |
Description |
Stereograph. Labeled on back "Freshet of Oct. 4, 1869, looking from Main down No St" Bennington, Vermont. Number 89 of a series. Street is flooded. |
Information |
Bennington was hit with one of its most damaging floods on October 4 and 5, 1869. The event unfolded over two days as a cold front stalled across the region while a strong hurricane known as Saxby’s Gale passed through the shipping lanes south and east of Long Island and Nantucket. Tremendous amounts of moisture were drawn northward along the stalled front, producing copious 2-day totals from 3 to 7 inches across most of Vermont. In Bennington the waters suddenly began to rise around 10:00 Monday morning flooding streets, homes, and businesses throughout the downtown. Roads were washed out and bridges were destroyed, many of which had been rebuilt at great expense after flooding in the spring. There were hairbreadth escapes, such as that of Henry Sibley and Norman Greenslet, whose carriage crossed the Bennington Bridge just in time before it was swept away. Others were not so lucky. The house of Williad Knapp was swept away, and while he and his family escaped, his borders Charles and Ellen Potter were drowned along with Lyman Knapp who was in the house with them and Louis Rivard, who tried to save them. During the deluge, local photographer Calvin Dart took his camera out to record the desolation. This view is looking up North Street from the intersection with Main Street. |
Related People |
Dart, Calvin |
Credit line |
Gift of John Sheridan |
Catalog Number |
1999.30.4 |