History
On June 6, 1810 it was a dry summer and the Barton River, which supplied the power for grist mills in Glover and northward, was running very low. At the request of Arron Willson, the local Glover gristmill owner, 60 men and boys attempted to create a new north outlet from Long Pond to the Barton River, but instead, they unintentionally caused the banks of the pond to give way. This resulted in a flood throughout the Barton River Valley. [3]
The valley drops 600 feet (180 m) from Runaway Pond to Orleans for an average of about 40 feet (12 m) per 1 mile (1.6 km). [4]
The initial surge took trees and huge boulders with it, building up a logjam, which stopped the flood temporarily until the water pressure behind the jam built up, causing a breakthrough. This scenario kept recurring in the flood's progress down to Barton. [2]
One of the laborers, Spencer Chamberlain, ran ahead of the flood just in time to save Arron Willson's wife, working at the mill. There were no deaths.
The water ran out of the pond in 1 hour and 15 minutes, but the mud ran out for hours. The water reached Lake Memphremagog in 4 hours and reportedly raised the level there 1 foot (0.3 m).
The disaster, and the former location of the wayward pond was thereafter called "Runaway Pond."
Orleans County is a county located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Vermont. As of the 2020 census, the population was 27,393. Its shire town is the city of Newport. The county was created in 1792 and organized in 1799. As in the rest of New England, few governmental powers have been granted to the county. The county is an expedient way of grouping and distributing state-controlled governmental services.
Brighton is a town in Essex County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,157 at the 2020 census. The town was named "Gilead" in its original grant in 1780. The town was sold to a group consisting primarily of soldiers commanded by Colonel Joseph Nightingale and subsequently named "Random". The town's name was finally changed by the legislature to "Brighton" in 1832. The Brighton village of Island Pond gets its name from the Abenaki word Menanbawk, which literally means island pond.
Charleston is a town in Orleans County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,021 at the 2020 census. The town contains three unincorporated villages: Charleston, East Charleston and West Charleston.
Coventry is a town in Orleans County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,100 at the 2020 census.
Craftsbury is a town in Orleans County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,343 at the 2020 census. The town includes the unincorporated villages of Craftsbury, Craftsbury Common, Mill Village, and East Craftsbury.
Glover is a town in Orleans County, Vermont, in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the town's population was 1,114. It contains two unincorporated villages, Glover and West Glover.
The Connecticut River is the longest river in the New England region of the United States, flowing roughly southward for 406 miles (653 km) through four states. It rises 300 yards south of the U.S. border with Quebec, Canada, and discharges at Long Island Sound. Its watershed encompasses 11,260 square miles (29,200 km2), covering parts of five U.S. states and one Canadian province, via 148 tributaries, 38 of which are major rivers. It produces 70% of Long Island Sound's fresh water, discharging at 18,400 cubic feet (520 m3) per second.
Barton is a town in Orleans County, Vermont, United States. The population was 2,872 at the 2020 census. The town includes two incorporated villages, Barton and Orleans. Approximately a quarter of the town's population lives in each of the villages, and approximately half lives outside the villages. Only four other towns in the state contain two incorporated villages.
Newport is the only city in, and the shire town of, Orleans County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 4,455. The city contains the second-largest population of any municipality in the county, and has the smallest geographic area. It is the second-smallest city by population in Vermont. Newport is also the name of neighboring Newport Town.
Lake Memphremagog is a fresh water glacial lake located between Newport, Vermont, United States and Magog, Quebec, Canada. The lake spans both Quebec and Vermont, but is mostly in Quebec. Most of the watershed that feeds the lake is located in Vermont, and is a source for accumulated phosphorus, sediments, and other pollutants. Cleanup efforts since the late 1980s have improved the water quality. The lake furnishes potable water for 200,000 people.
Vermont Route 16 (VT 16) is a 27.890-mile-long (44.885 km) state highway in northern Vermont, United States. It begins at VT 15 in Hardwick and heads northward to U.S. Route 5 (US 5) in Barton. From Barton, it heads eastward to VT 5A in Westmore. The portion of VT 16 east of US 5 is town-maintained and signed east–west. The remainder of the route is signed north–south.
Lake Willoughby is a lake in the town of Westmore in Orleans County in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont, United States.
The Black River is a 40.8-mile-long (65.7 km) river in the U.S. state of Vermont, and a tributary of the Connecticut River. The watershed, or drainage basin, consists of some 202 square miles (520 km2) in southeastern Vermont, almost all of which lies in Windsor County.
The Barton River is a tributary of Lake Memphremagog, over 22 miles (35 km) long, in northern Vermont in the United States.
The U.S. state of Vermont is located in the New England region of the northeastern United States and comprises 9,614 square miles (24,900 km2), making it the 45th-largest state. It is the only state that does not have any buildings taller than 124 feet (38 m). Land comprises 9,250 square miles (24,000 km2) and water comprises 365 square miles (950 km2), making it the 43rd-largest in land area and the 47th in water area. In total area, it is larger than El Salvador and smaller than Haiti. It is the only landlocked state in New England, and it is the easternmost and the smallest in area of all landlocked states.
The Clyde River is a tributary of Lake Memphremagog, over 33.5 miles (54 km) long, in northern Vermont in the United States. It is the easternmost of the four major rivers in Orleans County. It is the most powerful of the four within Orleans County, powering several turbines at damsites. It is part of the Northern Forest Canoe Trail.
The Black River is a tributary of Lake Memphremagog, over 30 miles (48 km) long, in northern Vermont in the United States. It is one of the four major rivers in Orleans County. It is the longer but least powerful of the two rivers contained solely within the county. There are no longer any damsites.
Lake Parker, is located in the northwest corner of West Glover, Orleans County, Vermont in an area known as the Northeast Kingdom. This freshwater lake covers 239 acres (0.97 km2) and is just over one mile (1.6 km) long and one-half mile wide; its maximum depth is 48 feet (15 m). The lake is fed by two primary streams and outlets into Roaring Brook, which empties into the Barton River, Lake Memphremagog and, eventually, Canada's St. Lawrence River. It is bordered on three sides by seasonal homes; the southern end is a natural estuary sheltering waterfowl. The surrounding land is farmed for raising dairy cattle.
Glover is the primary village and a census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Glover, Orleans County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 256, out of 1,114 in the entire town of Glover.
Little Mehoopany Creek is a tributary of the Susquehanna River in Wyoming County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is approximately 8.4 miles (13.5 km) long and flows through Windham Township and Mehoopany Township. The watershed of the creek has an area of 11.3 square miles (29 km2), most of which is forested land and agricultural land. No stream in the watershed is designated as an impaired waterbody. The main rock formation in the watershed is the Catskill Formation and the main soil association is the Wellsboro-Oquaga-Morris.
