Whitney Web Page -
Southbridge History
The
1955 Flood - Looking back 60 years later
August 19, 1955 - Southbridge Mass.
Watch Youtube video of 2015 talk on the flood
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=is_CaEYOpJQ&feature=youtu.be
Hurrican Dianes path in August, 1955
The rains devastated the Norheast. In Southbridge, flooding was
severe
as two dams broke (one in Charlton and one in at West Street).
The "walls of water" converged on the Flats area. The AO Complex
was
under 15 Feet of Water.
These rare photos (Courtesy of Emily Faxon Gillman)
were taken during the height of the flood in the Flats of
Southbridge.
Photo courtesy of Jim Houghton
Click
here
for "Then and Now" views
The Photo below (Don Whitney)
was the aftermath as viewed at the intersection of Mechanic and
North
St.
Check out this Audio clip!
Close family friend Bob Haynes taped the WESO Radio Broadcast of
the
1955 Flood as it was happening. He lived on Wallace Road in
Sturbridge
and had the foresight to tape the WESO Broadcast. A porton of it
may be
downloaded here:. Download
Zip file here of WESO Radio Broadcast. This audio
file is in wav
format and has been zipped to 1/2 of the 1MB file size. It
contains
a dramatic segment where evacuation routes are being given and
the siren
in the center of Southbridge can be heard in the background.
Photos submitted by Bill Kroll at West ST.
Statistics
about
the 1955 Flood as printed in the Southbridge Evening
News
as
it appeared in Aug 31, 1955
Aug 1999 photo of me standing by the Flood level
marks
on the old AO Main plant (now the Southbridge Hotel).
The top marks show the water level for the
August 19,
1955 Flood -15 feet high!!!
The second level is that of the 1938 Flood (Sept
21st).
The remaining are for the March 19, 1936 and
March 12
1936 Flood levels (bottom)
Photos above and below submitted by Bob McMaster Jr.. Above the
damage
near the corner of Mechanic and Mary Streets.
Below, outside the AO Frame Plant with motors damaged by the
Flood
Waters.
Ames
and
the 1955 Flood - Bill Kroll
After
the
Flood - Don Croke recalls the Flood of 1955
Russell
St.
Laurent recalls the 1955 Flood on Mechanic St.
Brian
Chipman
recalls free ice cream & the wall of water in the
1955 Flood
Evelyn
(Mrs. Albert) Petrelli Recalls the 1955 Flood
Cliff
Harvey, Jr. recalls
the
Harvey/Wells business and the 1955 Flood Destruction
On this site are photos
of
the 1955 and 1938
Floods. Be sure to read below these Floods.
More
Information
on the Flood of 1955
Flood
Control History After the 1955 Flood
The
Flood of 1938
Learn
about AO and the Floods
Fires
of
Southbridge
Dick Whitney July 5, 2007
AO
History
Page
Southbridge
History
Page
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