Amazing Tales from CT: The Catastrophic Night When Not One, but Two Dams Gave Way

We encourage you to tune in to our newest program, Amazing Tales from Off and On Connecticut's Beaten Path, which airs Sunday afternoons at 4:30 right after the Opera.

 

Amazing Tales uses a story-telling format to focus on historically significant people, places, and events from Connecticut’s past. Host Mike Allen interviews subject matter experts on a variety of historical topics.

 

He specializes in bringing local history to life, by using his journalism and story-telling skills with podcasting and public speaking. For 15 years, Mike worked as a radio journalist, both at NPR's Boston affiliate WBUR and as News Director at i-95 (WRKI-FM) in western Connecticut. He subsequently worked in government and corporate before retiring and starting his podcast. As a resident of Connecticut for more than 50 years, Mike also makes public appearances throughout the state, speaking on topics of local history.

 

It was a horrific disaster -- in fact, the single worst disaster in the history of Danbury, Connecticut. Two earthen dams gave way, sending 140 million gallons of water barreling down on the young city in the 1800s. Both the terrible loss of life and the mind-numbing property damage were devastating and caused worried reservoir managers nationwide to wonder, “Could this also happen here?” Listen as Danbury Museum and Historical Society Executive Director Brigid Guertin recounts the tragic details of this unbelievable catastrophe.