Mansfield Hollow Dam

Posted By: Tom <umpire3@mindspring.com>
Date: Sunday, 31 March 2002, at 8:02 p.m.

Does anyone have information on the houses that were taken when the Dam was Build,I am looking for Info on the North Windham side and across the river in Mansfield. Walking down the old road on the mansfield side I see lots of stone wall's that look like they were lots at one time. 

Posted By: Theodore D. Delude <tdglashoe@attbi.com>
Date: Saturday, 27 April 2002, at 11:45 a.m.

In Response To: Mansfield Hollow Dam (Tom)

Hi Tom,

I have some information you may find interesting. Our family rented a house from the Thomas's on the Mansfield side of the Natchaug River. The house to the east of us was in Chaplin and belonged to Dr. Richard Neucome, which still stands. From the Chaplin- Mansfield town line running westward in Mansfield was our rental from Fred and Kesar Thomas, their house,a two family rental house that I believe was detroyed because it was too large to move, then the Lyon's home, then the next house and also one more across the street toward the river. The last one was the Septlowitz chicken farm house. Most of these house's were moved across the small bridge on the Natchaug River onto Route 6 and then placed on a hill across from the Willimantic Airport on Route 6, very near present day Sam's Club or store. I was nine years old at the time we moved in May of 1953. These house's had to be moved or destroyed because the Dam's engineers had figured that these houses would be flooded by the backup caused if the Dam had to close to prevent fooding down stream toward Willimantic. I also remember the remains of an old stone dam just east toward Chaplin next to the small bridge crossing the Natchaug River from the Mansfield side towards North Windham , Route 6 side. My mother had told me that dam broke during a hurricane in the 1936-38 time frame, not sure exactly. This is to my best recollection and I hope you fine this of some help. Ted