Floods and Winds Damage Historic Sites

Floods Damage Historic Sites

North Stonington.  The flooding that ravaged eastern Connecticut and Rhode Island at the end of March caused damage to a number of historic properties. The hardest-hit area was North Stonington village, a National Register district, where the 19^th-century stone-arched bridge that carried Main Street over the Shunock River was seriously undermined by the waters and its middle arch gave way.

            Fallen stones from the bridge were washed downstream, where they slammed against supports of the Holmes Block, a store built about 1820 and expanded in the 1840s. On March 31^st the 1840s wing collapsed into the stream. The older section remains, but its foundation was undermined and had to be repaired.

            The bridge continued to deteriorate, and it had to be removed, due to fears that further collapse—highly likely, considering the degree of damage—would block the river and cause additional flooding upstream that would harm other historic properties.

            The flooding also caused lesser damage to other historic resources in North Stonington, including a blacksmith shop and a second, smaller, bridge.

Flood relief efforts are overseen by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Since federal funding is involved, any actions that affect historic sites must be reviewed for their impact on those sites. Dan Forrest, the staff archaeologist for the State Historic Preservation Office, has been conducting those reviews, in coordination with FEMA.

“It’s generally the same Section 106 process as other federal projects that affect historic sites,” he said. “Only the time frame is much shorter, since this is an emergency, and decisions often need to be made quickly.”

The SHPO supported the decision to remove the Main Street bridge, stressing the need to protect other historic resources. The office is also participating with FEMA and the town in planning a replacement that is appropriate for the district’s historic character.

Bridgeport.  FEMA representatives came to Connecticut again after powerful storms and a tornado hit Bridgeport on June 24. Several buildings were partially collapsed in the East Bridgeport and East Main Street National Register districts. In addition, the winds hit the Barnum Museum, also on the National Register.