The
Flood of October, 1955
by
Brent M. Colley
Posted 09/20/05
In
1955, the worst natural disasters to strike Connecticut
since the hurricane of 1938 occurred within a 2-month span.
Two hurricanes, one tropical storm and a pair of floods
ravaged homes and businesses throughout the state in the
months of August and October.
The
August disaster was a result of back-to-back hurricanes
in mid-August 1955. Hurricanes Connie and Diane arrived
toward the end of a wetter-than-usual summer, combining
to drop over 24 inches of rain on the Northern regions of
Connecticut between August 13th and August 20th , leaving
record levels of flooding and widespread havoc in their
wake.
Many
Connecticut rivers, particularly the Housatonic, Naugatuck,
Still, Quinebaug, Mad, and Farmington, overflowed their
banks as never before; towns and cities in Litchfield and
Hartford counties were particularly hard hit. The downtowns
of many cities were devastated, including Winsted where
the downtown was completely washed away. Property damage
mounted into the tens of millions of dollars. Almost 100
people were killed, an estimated 4,700 were injured, and
countless others were left homeless.
Surprisingly,
towns and residents of the Norwalk and Saugatuck Watershed
in the Southwestern section of Connecticut did not sustain
rainfall accumulations as high as those to the north and
were spared of flood conditions in August. Their time was
yet to come.
In
October, a four day tropical storm dumped an additional
12-14 inches of rain on southwest New England. This event
was not as widespread as the August storms; however, the
Flood of October, 1955 was devastating to the local communities
along the Norwalk and Saugatuck Rivers. Millions of dollars
and several lives were lost as a result of the rains that
fell between Friday Oct. 14 and Monday Oct. 17th, 1955.
*Newspaper
reports from several local publications varied greatly on
the amount of rain and the amount of time it fell in. These
numbers varied from the 12.58 inches reported by Georgetown
Weatherman's George Howes to as much as 13.88 inches reported
in Ridgefield. The timeframe also varied from 36 hours to
48 hours depending on source of information. Regardless
of the exact amount and timeframe, a great deal of rain
fell upon an already saturated watershed on the weekend
of October 14th, 1955.
All
of Fairfield County was hit, but Branchville, Georgetown,
Norwalk, Wilton and sections of Ridgefield were hit worse,
because of the Norwalk River.
According
to Charles Howes, Georgetown's weather observer, and his
assistant Conrad Borgensen. Starting at 7am on Friday morning,
Mr. Howes recorded .62 inches by 5:30pm, and another 2 inches
by midnight. By noon Saturday another 2.23 inches had fallen;
and during the next 24 hours 7.82 inches of rain was dumped
upon this area.
By
mid-afternoon Saturday, the Georgetown Fire Department and
all available men were stationed at the bridges into town
and at Branchville. The danger: fire and/or explosions from
the washed-out gasoline tanks of the Branchville Motors
garage, their contents riding the crest of the flood, causing
alarm for several hours.
By
6pm the Norwalk River had flooded Route 7 from Branchville
Station to just south of the Georgetown Motors garage. The
Branchville train station, businesses and homes in the area
were swamped, the bridge near Branchville cemetary completely
washed away.
Shortly
after 6pm residents were evacuated from Branchville and
Georgetown, some by boat, others by heavy-duty trucks. Residents
that did not have relatives or friends they could not reach
in the area were taken the Georgetown Firehouse where they
remained overnight.
The
Press reported the Peatt family on Mamanasco Lake brought
in boats and "went to Branchville to rescue some people
whose houses were surrounded by still rising waters of the
Norwalk River."
Nazzareno
Ancona reported seeing the gas station on Route 7 flooded
with water half-way up the garage door, water coming in
the back door and coming out the front door "bringing everything
with it," he said.
The
dam at Perry's Pond, on Route 53, above Georgetown (now
Route 107) gave way a little before 9pm Saturday night sending
a rush of water into the heart of Georgetown. In addition,
there was a landslide about a half mile up Route 53 (now
Route 107), but cars were able to get through.
At
9pm a northbound train out of Norwalk came to a halt in
the "wilds" between Honey Hill and Seeley Roads in Cannondale.
The stalled train and its 83 passengers would remain stranded
for the next 14 hours until three U.S. Army helicopters
were able to airlift them to safety in a rescue mission
that spanned 3 hours. They were all transported to Danbury
via buses.
By
10:30pm water was 4 feet deep in the center of Georgetown.
Factory pond was so high that residents later reported water
up to their porches on Portland Avenue.
The
nearly 8 inches of rain that fell between Saturday and Sunday
taxed the dams along the Norwalk River, in all likelyhood
already fatigued by the storms of August, to such an extent
that at approximately 10:30pm the dam at Great Pond gave
way, sending a surge of water through the Norwalk River
Valley with such force that all dams and most of the bridges
in its path crumbled in its wrath.
The
concrete bridge on Route 7 which is parallel to the railroad
trestle (between DeLuca's Hardware and Bob Sharp), crashed
into the river just before 11pm Saturday night, and shortly
after that the trestle, undermined by the flood waters,
collapsed as well leaving the tracks still spanning the
river, but with no visable means of support.
At
approximately 11pm, there was an audible "pop" as the embankment
surrounding the the dam that had served the Gilbert & Bennett
factory for over 100 years gave way sending water levels
in Georgetown and through the factory to heights estimated
from 8 to 12 feet deep.
Connery's
Lumber Yard was washed away when the dam broke at the factory,
and evidences of it could be found as far down the Norwalk
River as Cannondale.
It's
safe to say Harold Connery was a good humored man... Following
the Flood, Harold was asking all his customers downstream
if they had received the shipments of lumber he sent them.
The
dam at the "old mill" (Old Mill Road) went shorty after
the dam at the factory gave way, sending more tons of water
down the valley.
As
dams to the north succumbed to the avalanche of water surging
down the valley, Cannondale and Wilton were next in the
river's path of destruction. Flood waters inflicted heavy
damage on the New Haven Railroad tracks at several points
in Wilton. The trestle in Cannondale, just below what was
left of the Cannon Grange Hall, collapsed. At the northern
approach to the Cannondale trestle, the tracks twisted crazily
off their embankment; and were seriously undermined at several
other points throughout Wilton.
Four
Wilton bridges spanning the Norwalk River - at Honey Hill,
Seeley, Old Ridgefield, and Kent Roads - were wiped out,
as were bridges at Silver Spring and Cedar Roads. Washouts
made other bridges at Old Mill Road, Wolfpit Road, Arrowhead
Road and Cannondale impassable; but these washouts and others
in Silvermine were patched up with gravel on Monday and
Tuesday by town road crews and contractors.
In
houses along Cottage Row in the center of Wilton which frequently
experienced cellar floods but nothing worse, the water rose
above the main floors- almost to the ceilings in the Grover
Bradley and George Barringer homes. The home of Mrs. Millie
Beers in South Wilton was twisted off its foundation. Mrs.
Beers was rescued by two firemen.
The
Silvermine River in the southwest corner of Wilton also
went on a rampage. Several families along the river fled
their homes as the raging waters threatened to wash them
away. Many evacuees spent the night with neighbors; several
families slept in the Wilton Congregational Church and parsonage,
the firehouse and town hall.
Over
in Redding the damage was primarily roadway and bridge wash-outs
along the Saugatuck and its tributaries.
The
small brook that courses down Route 53 (now 107), at the
top of the Glen Hill, became a raging torrent undermining
the road there. The road was passable until late Monday
afternoon when, S. Harold Samuelson, first selectman of
Redding, ordered the road closed.
Halfway
down the Glen Hill, a landslide blocked the highway until
Sunday afternoon, when a bulldozer pushed a one-way lane
through it. At the foot of Glen Hill, the road was impassable
over the bridge at the junction of Routes 53 and 107; the
bridge withstood the raging Saugatuck, but the roadway was
completely washed away on either side. On Monday afternoon,
a car was still standing in a deep hole that had been the
approach to the bridge, leaning crazily against a telephone
pole. Further downstream was another car in the river. Its
occupants had abandoned it on the road Saturday night.
Upstream
was the site of the tragedy which saddened the whole town.
At the Diamond Hill Road bridge, Edward Arthur Phoenix,
53, and his wife, Veronica, 47, of Fox Run Road lost their
lives on Saturday night when the Phoenix's car was swept
into the river below the bridge. Mr. and Mrs. Phoenix were
coming home from dinner at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Matthew
Blair of Great Pasture Road.
A
three and one-half hour frantic and near successful attempt
to rescue Mrs. Phoenix from a tree, after her husband had
been swept to his death, made the tradegy even more horrifying.
While volunteer firemen and neighbors tried vainly to reach
her in the darkness she clung doggedly to the tree, aware
of the efforts to save her. But at length her strength failed
and she fell into the river and drowned. At one time the
rescuers were within 20 feet of the tree but were turned
aside by the tremendous force of the torrent.
An
Army helicopter spotted the women's body Monday Morning,
1,500 feet from the Diamond Hill Bridge. Mr. Phoenix's body
was recovered early Tuesday about 50 feet further downstream.
All
approaches to West Redding were blocked; not a bridge was
left intact by the tributaries of the Saugatuck River. Route
53 all the way to Bethel was blocked, the only route to
Bethel or Danbury left open was the Black Rock Turnpike,
which people reached by devious ways.
The
Aftermath
The
Red Cross survey team of Morris Earle, disaster chairman;
Thomas Donahue and J. Andrew Squires reported that 9 businesses
along the Norwalk River suffered total loss of inventory;
26 received major flood damage ranging up to total loss,
and 19 suffered minor damage. They said the water reached
the first flood or higher in 70 houses along the Norwalk
River, and probably more than 15 others in southwest and
southeast corners of town. More than 1,000 cellars were
flooded, they estimated.
Hardest
hit in this area was Georgetown where the Gilbert and Bennett
Manufacturing plant's dam gave way, sending nine feet of
rampaging river water rolling down Main Street wiping out
stocks and equipment in restaurants, groceries and other
business establishments, and undermined several buildings.
Along
Main Street, the damage was incredible. The new Calso Building,
which housed Sansevieri's Barber Shop (opened just 3 weeks
prior to the flood), J.C. Driscoll's Real Estate (opened
just one week prior to the flood) suffered heavy damage.
Steve's Bakery which open just 2 week prior to the flood
was considered a complete loss. Bonsignore's Market was
also a total loss. The Local Shoemaker, Georgetown Electric,
Sabilia's Liquor store, Georgetown Restaurant, Bennie's
Restaurant, Perry's Market all ruined. Connery Brothers'
new building supply store withstood the flood, being on
higher ground. The main store, on the opposite side of Route
57, while undamaged, stood as an island, the surrounding
highway being washed away.
The
three garages in Branchville: Branchville Service and Oil,
Branchville Motors and Georgetown Motors were all damaged
by the flood. Branchville Motors the worst of all. Archie
Parent, the owner, had gotten his used cars to higher ground
before they were washed away, but most of his supplies were
down by the river Sunday morning.
Route
7 was flooded and washed out in several places, including
the concrete bridge near Sunset Pass in Georgetown (Bob
Sharp Motors, DeLuca's Plaza area) which fell into the river
on Saturday night. Traffic was detoured at that point via
Old Danbury Road and across the much older bridge which
withstood the flood.
Traffic
through the town was re-routed to so many different roads,
that most people stopped to ask "is such and such road open?",
rather than take the chance of finding that the road was
blocked. Roads that were passable Sunday and even Monday,
suddenly developed breaks, and people who didn't have to
travel were being asked to remain at home.
Wilton's
and Ridgefield's flood problems were further complicated
by the Silvermine River's undermining of the Silvermine
Bridge on Merritt Parkway in Norwalk. Parkway and Route
1 traffic was detoured up Wilton-Westport Road to the Route
7 traffic light in Wilton and up the Ridgefield-Wilton Road
to Route 35 at the Ridgefield Congregational Church.
Local
police, firemen and Red Cross and Civil Defense volunteers
directed traffic at the intersections along the detour.
Cars and heavy trucks moved slowly bumper to bumper along
the entire route much of Sunday afternoon and at frequent
intervals during the four days that followed.
The
Press reported on Oct. 20, 1955: 90% of roads were "washed
out to some degree."
Hard-surfaced
and gravel roads in most areas were washed out by drain
water or small streams which burst over their culverts,
ripping deep holes in the highways.
All
Wilton Schools were ordered closed in the week following
the flood, primarily as a health measure, due to the possibility
that the water supplies at the Junior High, Center School
and Gorham House may have been contaminated. Center School
was also without heat, since its electric motors were knocked
out by flood waters.
Disruption
of bus route by road and bridge washouts also contributed
to school closings; school officials and bus contractors
worked on route revisions all week.
Some
700 persons who lived or worked in the flooded areas bared
their arms for Typhoid shots Monday and Tuesday, at an emergency
clinic set up at Wilton Town Hall by Dr. Henry Appelbaum,
public health director.
Governor
Abraham Ribicoff and his aides landed in two Army helicopters
at the playground of the Gilbert & Bennett school Tuesday
afternoon, to see first-hand the damage to Georgetown and
Redding. The governor was greeted by Harold Samuelson, Redding's
First Selectman; John H. Mulliken, president of Gilbert
& Bennett Manufacturing Company, and other company officials.
Escorted by state police, the governor made a tour of the
factory, then later took off to fly over Redding.
While
in Georgetown, Governor Ribicoff also inspected damage along
Main Street and walked into Kearn General Store which was
among those washed out when the nine foot wall of water
hit Main Street. Operated by Herbert Kearns and his family
for 49 years, the store had missed few, if any days of business
in that time. When it was moved 30 or 40 feet to make room
for the new highway (Rt. 107), business went on as usual.
"What
are you going to do now?" the governor asked as he gazed
around the soaked merchandise and three inches of muck on
the floor.
"Governor,
I just don't know," Mr. Kearns replied, "I haven't made
up my mind yet."
The Clean-up
The
volunteer effort in the aftermath of this great disaster
exemplifies the character of the individuals living in this
area at this time period. Dogged, gritty, determined, steadfast,
unwavering are words that come to mind when recounting the
clean-up efforts and acts of neighbory kindness in this
time of tragedy.
Gilbert
and Bennett employees, the Georgetown Fire Department and
all available men and women in the area took part in the
heart-breaking task of cleaning up Georgetown, a job they
had been at since Saturday night.
The
flood caused almost $1 million worth of damage to the Gilbert
and Bennett mill alone.
*John
Mulliken recalled in 1959 that: "It took us 137 years to
get together a little over $800,000 in Government Bonds
and they went out the window in less than an hour when the
flood hit us."
Despite the destruction, the company reopened two months
later as employees and local contractors joined together
in the clean up effort and in spite of the flood's devastation
the company still produced 2.6 million miles of wire in
1955...an amount that would reach 104 times around the world.
The
Georgetown and Redding fire departments sent men and pumps
out to empty flooded cellars so that people could get their
heating units in working condition. Some of these men worked
around the clock for 3 days.
Members
of the Civilian Defense units were also on duty in Branchville,
Georgetown and Redding. Many of them up to Tuesday morning
had had no sleep since the flood struck the area, and few
of them had hope of being relieved.
With many people in Branchville, Georgetown and Redding
low on food, neighbors with operational freezers helped
out those less fortunate.
Harold
Connery, head of Connery Brothers, sent his trucks to Bethel
and Danbury to for additional food and supplies. Connery's
was the only food store in town undamaged by the flood,
but he did not rejoice in his good fortune, instead he served
those in need.
Wilton
health director, Dr. Henry Applebaum, obtained from the
State a supply of lime for decontaminating water supplies
and buildings. It was made available at the town hall in
Wilton, together with decontamination instructions.
All
men, working in the flood areas, such as the Gilbert and
Bennett factory, received typhoid inoculations from Dr.
P.T. McIlroy. Mrs. Julius Johnson assisted Dr. McIlroy in
the mass inoculations.
Could
it happen again?
We
must keep in mind that flooding is a natural process for
rivers, producing many beneficial side effects such as the
distribution of fresh water over a wide area to replenish
groundwater supplies that are critical for the private wells
that many households depend upon. But in a congested region
like Fairfield County, floods can also pose a great threat
to life and property.
The
Norwalk River has not had a significant flood since 1955.
A modern repeat of the 1955 flood would do over $21 million
in damage along the river. On the 50th anniversary of the
Flood of '55 perhaps it is appropriate to point out three
simple steps that both local municipalities and residents
can take to help lessen the dangers of flooding in our area.
Wetland
Conservation
The
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) encourages the
use of wetlands for flood and storm water detention in lieu
of, or in conjunction with traditional structural flood
control measures. Wetlands can play an important role in
flood prevention by capturing and gradually releasing floodwater,
rain, and snow melt back into the watercourse, thus lowering
peak flows downstream. In addition, the physical structure
of wetland vegetation can impede the flow of flood waters,
thereby reducing erosion, and preventing downstream damage
to houses and other structures. Wetlands also help to remove
pollutants from water, cleaning streams and lakes, thereby
reducing the cost of drinking water treatment.
The
U. S. Army Corps of Engineers has recognized the value of
wetlands in preventing flood damage. In 1983, the Corps
concluded that conserving wetlands was a less expensive
solution to flooding than the construction of dikes and
dams.
Increase Riparian Buffers, Decrease Flood Severity
Healthy
riparian zones can reduce severity of flooding during heavy
rains in three ways:
The
stream's natural characteristics are preserved. Vegetation
on and above the streambank provides friction against moving
water, which slows it down so water is not delivered downstream
as quickly. Water that floods into such an area also re-enters
the main channel slowly. A meandering stream increases the
storage potential of the channel, once again, slowing water
movement and reducing flood potential.
Native
trees, shrubs, and grasses route water under ground.
The dense stems of grass, shrubs, and trees in the riparian
zone further slow water, allowing it to infiltrate into
the "soil sponge." Root systems of this vegetation keep
pores of the soil open so that two to three times more water
can enter the soil compared to a soil used for cultivation
or grazing. Water in the soil is released slowly into the
stream.
Transpiration
of plants reduces water in the soil. Trees, shrubs,
and grass use large amounts of water in transpiration. Several
thousand gallons per acre of water are used by plants each
day, thereby drying the soil and making more room in the
"soil sponge" for floodwater. The transpiration process
also is responsible for taking large amounts of nutrients
and chemicals into plants where much of it is locked up
in storage.
Do
your part...Don't Dump Leaves into Waterways or Wetlands
Whether
it's in the spring when homeowners, renters, and professional
yardmen are hastening to rake up last fall's leaves and
cut back deadwood to encourage the new growth that has started
to push through the earth or it's during the great fall
cleanup, any time is a good time to remember that none of
those raked leaves and collected clippings should find their
way into any waterway or wetland.
Excess
leaves can clog culverts, fill ponds or the backside of
a dam, and make the river shallower and more prone to flooding
or the need for expensive dredging. Property owners should
let anyone who works with them or for them know that this
material should not be blown or dumped into any river, pond,
or wetland. No matter which waterway or wetland is a dumping
target, dumping in those sensitive areas can have serious
consequences.
Media
and individuals can download
the article here.
Flood
Photos
Very few photos were taken at the height of the storm.
The pictures shown here come from two photo collections
that were published immediately after the event: "A Pictorial
Review of the Danbury and Northern Fairfield County Flood
of Oct 15-16, 1955" published by the Danbury Printing Co.
and generally lacking photo credits, and "The Night of October
15, 1955: MARK Flood Disaster Pictorial", published by MARK
Publications, Inc., 64 Wall St., Norwalk. The
latter has many original photos plus others that are credited
to local individuals and news organizations.
These two photo collections were kindly provided to us by
Jack Sanders, Executive Editor of the Ridgefield Press,
a Hersam Acorn publication, to whom we express our thanks.
The newspaper-quality photos from the 1950's have been further
degraded in the scanning process, preparing them for this
website, but we think they still provide a good impression
of what happened on that very memorable weekend, nearly
a half-century ago.