Silvermine
On Saturday night, residents along the Silvermine River saw more flooding than they had ever seen in the area. Between 8 and 9 o’clock, the river rose 12 inches and about 9 pm the police were sent to evacuate those living close to the rising water. By 10:30 the James Street Bridge had washed away. Sometime during the night, the old dam of the Buttery Sawmill gave way and sent a sudden burst of rushing water down the river, taking the sawmill with it. The debris from the demolished sawmill might have been the cause of the Perry Avenue Bridge collapse near the Silvermine Tavern. The South Norwalk Reservoir in Wilton and the Norwalk Reservoir in New Canaan most likely overflowed into tributaries of the Silvermine River at about the same time.
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“The night of the flood, my grandmother was taking care of us while my mother was at a party. It was very late when she woke us up. We dressed and put some of our things into pillowcases. Then we stepped into the raging river that used to be Old Kings Highway, the road in front of our house. My grandmother clutched our hands and the pillow cases. Our progress toward the southern end of the road was persistently thwarted as the water level continued to rise.
About this time I cried out, ‘Where is my Mommy!’ My grandmother told me that she was safe with friends across the river. But this realization only heightened my fear at being separated from her. Finally, in the far distance, we saw two wobbling pinpricks of light; we realized that they were flashlights. My grandmother cried out for help. It was Ray Ritchie and Dave MacKay. Were it not for them, I honestly believe that I would not be alive today to tell this story.
I was only four years old at the time, but will never forget the terror at being buffeted around in the middle of the flood, nor do I think that I have ever fully recovered from its impact.”
Madeleine Eckert, 2005
“My parent’s house was on the Silvermine River at the James Street Bridge. That night, becoming concerned, I went out onto the porch to watch the river. Almost as soon as I got there, the wooden roadbed that was the bridge, all of a sudden floated off its underpinnings and careened toward the house. Within a second or so, the bridge crashed into a large sycamore tree on the upstream corner of the house, ripped it out by its roots and together they went floating by the house. If that tree had not been there, I’m convinced that the house would not have survived.”
Bob Wagman, 2005
“On October 15th, 1955, Norwalk learned the hard way that nature and rivers are more powerful than man. In the last fifty years we have learned to have a greater respect and understanding of our rivers, but the potential for danger remains as long as people feel the need to encroach on nature’s plan for the river.”
Marny Smith, 2005
Norwalk Conservation Commission
Norwalk Land Trust