1886 - A Raging Flood

BOSTON, MASS. April 20. - A special dispatch, received about noon from Pittsfield, Massachusetts, states that the great dam at Lee, ten miles below there, which furnished power for some dozen huge mills, gave way without warning at an early hour and almost swept the town out of existence. The noise of the explosion sounded like and earthquake, and the houses were swept away while their inmates were still in bed... Melting snow upon the mountains caused the freshet which did the damage... Relief is being sent to the scene. Eleven bodies have thus far been recovered. It is estimated that fifty people were drowned.