SKU: 72268561606

In the Shadow of the Dam: The Aftermath of the Mill River Flood of 1874

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Description

In the Shadow of the Dam: The Aftermath of the Mill River Flood of 1874Early one May morning in 1874, in the hills above Williamsburg, Massachusetts, a reservoir dam suddenly burst, sending an avalanche of water down a narrow river valley lined with factories and farms. In just thirty minutes, the Mill River flood left 139 people dead and 740 homeless and a nation wondering how this terrible calamity had happened. In this compelling tale of a man made disaster peopled with everyday heroes and arrogant scoundrels,

Early one May morning in 1874, in the hills above Williamsburg, Massachusetts, a reservoir dam suddenly burst, sending an avalanche of water down a narrow river valley lined with factories and farms. In just thirty minutes, the Mill River flood left 139 people dead and 740 homeless -- and a nation wondering how this terrible calamity had happened.

In this compelling tale of a man-made disaster peopled with everyday heroes and arrogant scoundrels, Elizabeth Sharpe opens a rare window into industry and village life in nineteenth-century New England, a time when dam failures and other industrial accidents were widespread and laws favored factory owners rather than factory workers. In the Mill Valley, the townsfolk depended upon generally benevolent patriarchs who assured them that the dam was safe, when most people could see that it was not.

The story of the Mill River flood is the story of those townsfolk: of George Cheney, the dam keeper whose repeated warnings about leaks in the dam had been ignored by the mill owners; of his wife, Elizabeth, who watched in disbelief as the dam burst open from the bottom; of Isabell Hayden, the mother who saw her young son swept away in the river's torrent; and of Fred Howard, a box maker who spent the days after the flood searching for bodies, burying friends, and waiting to see if the button factory he relied upon for his livelihood would be rebuilt. It is also the story of the well-meaning but overconfident businessmen who built the dam: of Onslow Spelman, the manufacturer who dismissed the dam keeper's flood warning, irrationally insisting that the dam could not break; of Lucius Fenn and Joel Bassett, the engineer and contractor whose roles in the construction of the dam would be questioned during the public inquest into the causes of the flood; of William Skinner, the factory owner who struggled to decide whether or not to rebuild his silk factory in the village that bore his name; and of many others.

The flood highlighted class divisions between worker and owner, as well as the disorganized state of professional engineering, then still in its infancy. As the flood exposed the dangers of allowing mill owners -- who were not trained engineers -- to design their own dam, legislation to regulate the building of reservoir dams in Massachusetts was enacted for the first time. Engineers, politicians, and business owners battled over control of the reform measures to prevent similar tragedies, yet saw them continually repeated.

In the Shadow of the Dam is the story of an event that reshaped a society. Told through the eyes of villagers like Collins Graves, lauded as a hero for his desperate ride through the valley to warn people of the impending flood, and industrialists like Joel Hayden Jr., entrusted with the responsibility of disaster relief despite his culpability in failing to maintain the leaking dam, In the Shadow of the Dam is a history of our uneasy relationship with industrial progress and a riveting narrative of a tragic disaster in small-town Massachusetts.

Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Free Press
Published: 08/10/2007
ISBN: 9781416572640
Pages: 304
Weight: 0.99lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.68d
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SKU: 72268561606

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A. Calhoun
Belleville, US
★★★★★ 5
Just buy them. There is nothing not to love!
Color: Beige Tortoise Frame / Brown Gradient Lens, Color: Beige Tortoise Frame / Brown Gradient Lens
I've had these for a year or two now and came back and ordered three more. I wear these daily because they are so comfortable and cute. A lot of sunglasses give me headaches either they are too tight or too heavy, these never do. They don't catch in your hair if you put them on your head. They don't slide down your nose when you sweat or move your head. The beige tortoiseshell is the prettiest most flattering color ever. I'm a dark winter and I struggle to find cute sunglasses other than black. So many are brown warm colors the beige violet tortoiseshell is very cool and flattering for my cool toned gals. I have a pretty normal size head and these are just a hint of oversized but in a good way. I have an oval face that leans long oval or slight heart and these are seriously flattering. I have so many photos in them they always look good. I'm going to try the all plastic version too but I honestly love the thin metal arms. Just buy these it's such a good buy and brand. I literally donated other pairs because I don't wear them anymore after discovering these. I bought obviously the beige tortoiseshell, black with gold, and the cherry. Debating on the green. My only wish is more color options. I'd love more silver arm options. Thanks WMP for these!
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Reviewed in the United States on June 9, 2026
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Elizabeth
Carnegie, US
★★★★★ 4
Cute but wide
Color: Tortoise Frame/Brown Lens
cute sunglasses that look nice on but are a little wide for my more narrow face. They do fit well enough for me to wear, it’s just they’d definitely fall off if I lean down in them. I think I’m going to keep them though. Construction wise, they are nice, very light which makes them more comfortable and the tortoise color is pretty. Overall nice sunglasses for the price.
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Reviewed in the United States on May 26, 2025
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Colleen B.
Lexington, US
★★★★★ 5
Perfect shades
Color: Tortoise Frame/Brown Lens
I love these sunglasses! I have a small face, and I find that these fit perfectly! They are stylish, fun and I don't have a problem of them sliding down my nose.
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Reviewed in the United States on May 24, 2026
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chauntal
West Palm Beach, US
★★★★★ 5
Comfortable sunglasses
Color: Gold Frame/Black Lens
Great fit, definitely polarized, and super cute on. Even the packaging was nice. Definitely a great buy for the price!
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Reviewed in the United States on June 1, 2026
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Emily R
New York, US
★★★★★ 5
Nice quality for the price
Color: Tortoise Frame/Brown Lens
Love these. Better quality than I thought they might be. Fit well, look nice.
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Reviewed in the United States on April 29, 2026

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