How the Flood of 1955 destroyed downtown

The summer of 1955 had been very hot and dry for Connecticut and other states along the eastern seaboard. 

Temperatures flared into the triple digits and drought conditions were pervasive as mid-August approached. Then suddenly the weather changed, and tropical storm Connie struck on Wednesday, August 17. In Winsted, torrential rain fell throughout the day. Highland Lake, the Mad and Still Rivers, and secondary rivers and streams were saturated from the downpour. Then, Hurricane Diane began moving up the coast toward Connecticut.

Heavy rains subsided on Thursday, Aug. 18, and the temperature dropped, but streets began to flood. By early evening, there was a brief clearing, but by 6 p.m. the rain began again. The downpour continued throughout the night and evacuation orders were issued for the downtown area.

Fire alarms sounded at 1 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 19, as 2 feet of water swept down Main Street. While evacuation efforts continued, the Mad and Still Rivers were overwhelmed by the incessant rain and the rapids on Main Street swelled to 8 feet. As Highland Lake raged over the spillways and converged with the Mad and Still Rivers, 150 feet below the lake, flood water on Main reportedly rose to 16 feet. The current was clocked at 50 miles per hour.

By mid-afternoon, National Guard helicopters landed at Central School in Winsted. The police and fire departments worked tirelessly during the disaster and enforcements arrived from other towns to assist with the effort.

On Saturday, Aug. 20, Gov.Abraham Ribicoff viewed Winsted from a helicopter. Within days, President Dwight D. Eisenhower declared the region a disaster area. Although the day was sunny, the blue skies were no consolation when residents viewed their city in ruins. As the flood water receded, silt, mud, and mass destruction were left in its wake.

According to one local reporter, downtown Winsted was “destruction at its worst.” Many structures had been swept downstream, knocked off their foundations, or damaged beyond repair. Businesses, residences, and factories on the banks of the Mad and Still Rivers were hit the hardest, especially the tenement buildings that housed over 400 people on Main Street.

Streets, sidewalks, telephone poles, electrical lines, and water, gas and sewer pipes were ravaged. Many residents in the flood-affected area were without food, electricity, telephones, and running water. Years of accumulated debris in the riverbeds compounded the disaster, blocking and destroying the bridges. Startling photographs show automobiles floating downstream or buried under mountains of debris, and roofs and walls detached from buildings.

•  •  •

The Red Cross, Civil Defense, Salvation Army, and other community organizations, and scores of volunteers joined together to bring Winsted back from disaster. Attesting to the community’s fortitude, however, rescue and cleanup efforts began before outside help even arrived. Curfews were strictly enforced, and Mayor P. Francis Hicks ordered martial law. National Guardsmen were posted throughout the city, and Central School, which served as a landing pad for helicopters, was also set up as a site to distribute fresh water, food and supplies. Passes were issued to property and business owners, to gain access to buildings on Main Street and to cross the center of town.

Mayor Hicks also established a flood committee and issued timely disaster bulletins. Winsted’s Health Officer, Dr. Francis Gallo, ordered all cats and dogs off the streets, within 48 hours after the flood and provided typhoid inoculations to all residents. With outside communications cut off from the city, the Winsted Evening Citizen’s editor and owner, Theodore Vaill, hand-wrote headlines and news items and posted them in his office window.

The Army Corp of Engineers led the official massive cleanup, which was dubbed “Operation Noah.” It took a tremendous effort on the part of clean-up crews to remove debris, repair roads, and restore services. In Winsted, electricity and phone service was restored quickly, though water mains and sewer lines took months to replace. Bailey bridges were constructed, to temporarily span the rivers, and the city dump operated around-the-clock, burning debris that could not be buried. The entire clean-up effort took nearly five years to complete.

Winsted received widespread attention after the flood, due to the magnitude of its plight, and contributions to the Winsted Disaster Fund were received from all over the world. The municipal losses totaled $30,123,190, and industrial damage was estimated at $4,889,050. An estimated 1,500 residents were left homeless, and hundreds were left without work. 170 out of 200 businesses located along the Mad and Still Rivers were destroyed by the disaster. Though some resumed operations, the majority suffered such tremendous losses that reopening was out of the question. Damage to Winsted’s school was estimated at $50,000 and opening of the fall session was delayed till October of that year.

Tragically, seven individuals lost their lives in the August 1955 flood. The last victim’s body was not recovered until 13 days after the flood. A monument was erected by the Winsted Chamber of Commerce in East End Park to honor those who perished. It was dedicated on Aug. 19, 1956, and rededicated on the 50th anniversary of the flood.

The threat of weakened foundations reportedly prompted the State of Connecticut to order that all flood damaged structures along the Mad River, from Division to Oak streets, be condemned. The resulting four-lane highway through Winsted is evidence of their decision. Some residents felt the buildings were torn down because the state wanted to widen Main Street, not because the buildings could not be repaired.

While Winsted was still reeling from the September flood, a second, less destructive flood, occurred in October 1955. The late Ted Marolda, in a 2005 oral history on the October flood, observed, “It wasn’t too bad, though, nothing like the first one.” 

Closely followed by the Great Depression and World War II, however, the two floods dealt a serious blow to Winsted’s economy.

•  •  •

In 1966, the Army Corps of Engineers began construction on the Sucker Brook Dam at third bay of Highland Lake. The project was completed in 1971. Along with similar projects in the state, the dam was built to prevent disasters of the magnitude of the flood of 1955.

“The Ballad of Winsted” was written in 1955 by state Sen. Theodore S. Ryan to rally the city’s spirit during its reconstruction process. It was sung to the tune of “Bonnie Blue Flag,” a popular Civil War tune. When the roads were finally put in, Winsted celebrated by holding an old-fashioned week-long event called “Frontier Days.” The sidewalks were still made of wood, but the streets were new, and everyone reportedly had a grand time. One year after the flood, a news release observed, “With every week bringing new evidence of rehabilitation, the future is bright.”

Each year as Aug. 19 approaches those who lived through the flood still likely recall what they and their city endured. If you wish to share your memories or photographs of the flood, please contact Verna Gilson at genealogy@beardsleyandmemorial.org. To learn more about the Great Flood of 1955, visit the Genealogy and Local History Room at Winsted’s Beardsley & Memorial Library.

Verna Gilson is the genealogy and local history research assistant at the Beardsley and Memorial Library in Winsted, co-author of “Winsted & Winchester” and author of “Brains, Money, and Pluck.” Both books are about the town’s history.