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New England Weather

The Spring Freshet of 1826

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Spring Freshet of 1823

1826 Avalanche

IN the spring of 1826, occurred a freshet that had been unparalleled in New England for more than thirty-five years. It extended not only through the northern New England states, but into Canada and New York. In the evening of Friday, March 24, the wind began blowing a gale from the southeast, and rain fell in such torrents that it seemed as if the very flood-gates of heaven were open. It continued all night, and ceased the next morning.

In Vermont, much damage was done to the roads and small bridges in the vicinity of Brattleboro', the greatest loss being the destruction of the bridges over West river between Brattleboro' and Newfane. In Weathersfield, Black river rose so high that it flooded a certain barn yard and drowned eighty merino sheep. At Bellows Falls, buildings and other property of much value were destroyed. A large paper-mill that had been built a short time before by B. Blake at Rockingham, on Saxton's river, was entirely carried away, the loss being five thousand dollars. A saw-mill, two bridges and a dye-house connected with the woolen factory of N. Whitcomb & Co., on the same stream, were also lost. On Williams' river, two bridges were carried away, and much damage was done by the swollen streams in the neighborhood of Woodstock, A sad incident that occurred in that town was the death of Nathan Furbush,who, while attempting to leap a stream formed by the overflowing water, fell into the swift current and was carried beyond all human assistance. The village of Montpelier was almost entirely inundated, and the turnpike between that place and Royalton was washed away in so many places that it was impassable. The freshet happened in the night, and in consequence the farmers that lived near the river suffered much in the loss of sheep and young stock.

The Kennebec river in Maine was more affected than any other large stream. When the rain began, the river was covered with ice that was twenty inches thick. The next day after the showers the water rose slowly and in the afternoon it was supposed that the great weight and strength of the ice would prevent its breaking up. The river continued to fill, however, until three o'clock on the next morning, when the ice could no longer resist the powerful pressure beneath, and it burst half a mile above Gardiner. The water raged down on the wharves at Gardiner, covering them four or five feet deep, and the great body of ice that followed pressed down upon them. At the first shock, a warehouse that stood nearly at the end of the upper or Long wharf was swept into the dock below. At five o'clock the water had risen two or three feet higher, and a small quantity of wood, lumber, etc., had gone down the stream, being lost. The ice above Gardiner still remained intact, and by twelve o'clock the water had lowered two or three feet. It immediately began to rise again, and continued rising until four o'clock, when it had attained its former height. A great body of ice had been accumulating for a mile above the town, and at this hour it suddenly started, rushing down the river with tremendous force. The people saw it coming and realized its almost superhuman power. The only hope they had of saving their property lay in the resistance of Long wharf, from the end of which the warehouse had already been carried away. Adjoining the place where it had stood was a large building which was used as an icehouse, containing at the time about four thousand tons of ice, and piled against it on the wharf were five or six hundred cords of wood. The wharf extended far into the river, and it was hoped that the heavy weight upon it would enable it to withstand the flood. It would thus form a partial barrier to the ice and water, compelling them to pass down gradually through the town. People anxiously watched it, fearing lest the wharf should give way and the water sweep down the stream, destroying the property on the wharves below, and the fifteen vessels that were lying in the docks. Hundreds of the inhabitants eagerly gazed at every assault made upon it. The ice leaped twenty feet from the surface of the water and fell against the building, which withstood the shock. Masses of ice then pressed against it, but it held firm. A small schooner that had lain a few rods up the stream was dashed against it, and in a moment was shattered to pieces, as easily as one would crush an egg shell. At last, as if to make one last struggle to overcome the obstacle in its path, the water caused logs twenty feet long and three feet in diameter to rear their whole length and be thrown against the building, — but it still stood. For two minutes the conflict seemed doubtful, but in two more it was decided. The wharf remained, and the property below was chiefly saved. The terrible breathless anxiety of the spectators gave place, when the danger was passed, to a general and heartfelt shout of joy. The force of the raging stream had lessened, but the water had not lowered, neither had the ice and limber all gone down. A compact mass of ice, logs, trees, lumber, etc., was floating rapidly by, and in the midst of it were embedded five schooners, hurrying to what seemed to be certain destruction. The ice continued moving down for a mile or two below the town, where it was finally stopped by an unbroken field of ice, and jammed so severely that it caused the water to rise to a height never before known in Gardiner. At six o'clock the water was thirteen feet above the common high-water mark, an hour later it began to subside, and in twenty-four hours had fallen about four feet. The loss in Gardiner alone was about five thousand dollars. The chief sufferers were R. H. Gardiner, Esq., and J. P. Hunter & Co. The firm's loss was in logs. Mr. Gardiner was the owner of the warehouse, which was carried away, and in which were a few goods belonging to parties in Augusta. His causeway across the basin of the stream was pressed by the ice several rods from its original location. A boat-builder's shop belonging to Mr. Patten, which stood by the side of the ice-house, was crushed by the ice and by the logs that were driven upon it, and the fishing schooner of Enoch Dill was utterly destroyed. Small quantities of salt, in some of the lower stores, wood, lumber, etc., were destroyed, and some damage was done to one or two vessels, which were lodged upon the wharves. In Pittston, on the opposite side of the river from Gardiner, a large brig on the stocks, in the process of construction, belonging to J. H. and A. Cooper, was lifted from the blocks, and somewhat damaged. The firm also lost one or two small buildings. To show the force of the water at this place it is related that an elm tree five feet in diameter, situated in the ship yard of Capt. J. Tarbox, standing many feet from high-water mark, and protected by a point of high land above it, was uprooted by the action of the water.

At Hallowell, the ice jammed below the village, forming a dam, and the water inundated the town, swept off buildings and filled the lower rooms of the stores on the river side of the main street, destroying large quantities of the articles contained in them. All the vessels on the stocks at that place were swept away, and four or five schooners were driven from their moorings nearly to Gardiner, where they were wedged in the immovable mass of broken ice. In the town thirty or forty families were obliged to abandon the living rooms in their houses, and flee to the upper stories on account of the flood. The loss in Hallowell amounted to more than twenty thousand dollars. The principal part of the bridge at Waterville was destroyed, and two or three small bridges between that town and Augusta were so much damaged that they were impassable. Indeed, every settlement on the river suffered more or less from the inundation.

Source: Historic Storms of New England by Sidney Perley, 1891

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