The flood of 1927

Ninety years ago on Nov. 3, 1927, there was a heavy rain. At first, the inhabitants of Cavendish were not particularly concerned but the rain continued hour after hour. In an unusual weather pattern, two storms from different directions stalled over Vermont. Seven and one-half inches of rain fell in 24 hours on the Black River drainage area. From its source, north of Plymouth, the Black River gathered volume and force as it washed out the Plymouth roads; flooded the streets and basements of Ludlow; damaged the Rutland Railroad tracks, undermined foundations of several tenements, and flooded the finishing room of the Proctor Woolen Company in Proctorsville.

The heaviest damage was reserved for Cavendish village. Instead of staying in its course down through the Cavendish Gorge, the Black River broke through the power company's pond dike above the gorge dam and by 9 pm, there were two feet of water in lower Main St. and four feet covering Depot St (now called Mill St.). The river then cut a deep and wide gully down through lower Main St, once part of an ancient river bed. The gully was one-quarter mile long, 100-600 feet wide, and 25-150 feet deep. Note that this was a similar path that took place during Irene in 2011.  Swept away by the raging river were seven houses, ten barns, four garages, eight automobiles, land, trees, the lower part of Main St., and a section of the River Rd. The wreckage piled up in Whitesville, a mile downstream. 

The Duttonsville School ended up protruding over the edge of a high sandbank. Redfield Proctor, former Vermont governor, offered $10,000 to restore the schoolhouse. Olin Gay, Chairman of the School Board, proposed using this gift to move the school to a new location. He also proposed that the town raise an additional $5,000 by taxes to put in an auditorium basement, modernize the heating system and install toilets. The school building was moved on big rollers by oxen and horses 400 feet back to a safer location. It had much better facilities than before the flood. A Vermont Standard School until 1928, thanks to the renovations after the flood, Duttonsville was upgraded to a “Superior School,” a status it retained until closing in 1971.  The school building still stands and to today is the home and business of Dan Churchill.  

President Calvin Coolidge telegraphed his cousin, Park Pollard, that he wanted to do whatever he could to help the town. He sent Herbert Hoover, then Secretary of Commerce, to visit the region and make recommendations. Tow Army engineers came to give technical help about relocating the state road.