The Vermont Journal, Windsor, Saturday, June 14, 1884 Fearful Disaster at Springfield, Vt. Hardly had the people of Springfield recovered fromthe destructive freshet that sweptdown the Brook valley into the town, on the memorable 12th of July last, than a second flood, from the same quarter north of the village, more devastationg than before, was in store for them who lived on Valley street and along the brook road. At 12 o'clock noon o fMonday, the clouds threatened rain, but no particular alarm was felt. In two hours from that time more than $15,000 worth of property was literally wiped out of existence. About 1:30 P. M. a thunderstorm of unequalled severity swept past the village to the northward, and in a few moments one of the abutments of the new bridge near Charles BUTTERFILD's gave way, and the bridge, which was supposed to be freshet proof, tumbled pell mell into the foaming torrent. Rushing with tremendous fury, timbers, boards, huge rocks and trees, the debris struckthe second bridge, also a new one, pitching it with a loud crash into the current. Reaching the well-appointed cottage house owned by Adna BROWN and occupied by Liberty BROWN, it swept away the barns and outbuildings, raised the house from its foundation and tipped it corner-wise into the stream. The family escaped, so that no one was injured. in ordinary times the little stream, scarcely larger than a small trout brook, finds its way to Blackriver by passing along the roadside and underneath the stoe of M. W. NEWTON, thence down in the rear of JOHNSON's blacksmith shop and out by the livery stable connected with the hotel property. When the water and debris reached NEWTON's store, or just before, Mr. NEWTON closed and fastened the doors between the north and south rooms, gathered up his books, papers andmoney drawer and fled to his house on the opposite side of the street, just in season to see the maddining torrent break into the north ekd of the building, where were stored some 75 barrels of flour. These were dumped in a heap into the south room and cellar. here the main channel becoming clogged, the water deflected into the street, gulling it out several feet deep. The next place in the path of destruction was the WHITCOMB house from which it carried a piazza and filled the lower story with water and mud. A portion of the barn recently occupied by the SANDERS livery stable, and quantities of earth was carried away from the rear of JOHNSON's blacksmith shop. The livery barn owned by Messrs. HART & DODGE, together with the large barn owned by F. G. ELLISON,were completely gutted and the buildings demolished, so they will have to be taken down, the front of the stable containing the office having been carried away entirely, as was also the front of PATTEN's harness shop next adjoining. The hotel, owned by H. E. CONARD, presents a sad appearance, the floors having been covered with mud and water up to the windows. In front of the livery stable, the brook broke from its covered sluiceway and carried a section of main street into Black river. Deflecting to the left, a portion of the great rush of water continued down Main street, finding an outlet at the falls bridge where a deep chasm is formed in front of the Reporter office in WOOLSON's block. On River street toward the north village, the LOONEY house was undermined and several large gullies made in the road at various points. Although the calamity of Monday afternoon was a severe shock to the people of Springfield, yet it may be looked at in the light of a providential warning. As night came on men, women and children could be seen seeking heir homes with dejected faces, little dreaming of what was yet in store for them. A little before three o'clock Tuesday morning, the village bells rang out a general alarm. People gathered about Valley street, but helpless to stay the torrent that now came pouring down with redoubled fury, sweeping everything before it. Guests at hotel and occupants along the fated stream sought places of safety. The water continued to rise, and by daylight a more desolate scene could not well be imagined. A deep water course was formed across the hotel garden, and the lower story was again filled with water, while the other buildings in the track were more thouroughly demolished.--The underpining of the Brink block was disturbed,and the basement of the block next south of the hotel property was filled with water and debris. This basement in the main was occupied by the meat market of Stanley Brpos. but their supplies were in the refrigerator and not damaged. Leland & Co., who had goods stored here, suffered, however.--H. E. CONRAD, proprietor of the hotel, met with a heavy loss on furniture, and had about $90 worth of lard buried in the cellar, together with other supplies. R. L. PATTEN suffered considerable loss on harness stock and goods, and the barber shop of J. Wood HASTINGS was flooded, and much of his property destroyed. A barn and shed belonging to Mrs. L. E. JACKMAN was swept away, together with Schuyler PROCTOR's new barn, built since the freshet of last year, and a shed belonging to the PERKINS stand, now owned by the saving bank and occupied by Messrs. STICKNEY and James MARTIN. Calvin ADAMS' house, a little further up the road, was undermined, and about fifteen cords of wood were swept away from near M. W. NEWTON's residence. Mrs. NEWTON, who has been quite sick for the past three weeks, had to be removed,while the mud and rocks were being piled up six feet high to the top of the pantry door. The road in front of the GEER residence gullied out badly, and, in fact, the road for fifty rods near Mr. SLADE's no more resembles a highway than a pumpkin resembles a jacknife. Mr. SLADE's meadows are entirely obliterated. There were several washouts below the village on the Charlestown road. In the west parto of the town the highways were terribly gullied, and access to the village by team was cut off on every road but one. The lower end of the highland road, below the RANDALL farm, washes out and was dumped into G. W. FOGGETT's darden, and the other road is all gone below Geo. WOODBURY's. In District No. 2, where the storm of last year centered, the damage was not so great this time; but the roads all over town are so dug out that it will require a large sum of money to put them in passable condition. The loss, whatever it may be, is total, as no one was insured, although insuarance against water could have been effected if desired, on private property. Including land, crops, highways and bridges, the loss will not fall much short of $45,000. Transcribed by Ruth Barton -- Ruth Barton mrgjb@sover.net Dummerston, VT