Ortonville- A weather expert says heavy rains and melting snow may have caused the collapse of the South Street bridge dam in 1943 which washed out the village mill pond.
Constructed in the mid 1800s, the mill pond was used to provide water for the Mill race turning the grinding wheel at Amos Orton’s Mill near Mill Street.
Although records are sketchy, the dam located underneath the South Street bridge washed away following a combination of some heavy rains and snow melt in April 1943, says a National Weather Service meteorologist.
‘According to weather records for the Spring of 1943, in the upper mid-west and Great Lakes regions, there was significant snow melt,? said Bill Deedler, National Weather Service meteorologist for White Lake Township.
‘There were severe weather in the latter part of April, mainly strong winds and hail. The data for the upper mid-west and Wisconsin also include unusually heavy snow fall. The Mississippi Valley had heavy snow too. The Missouri River was flooding along with the upper Ohio River about the same time as the washout in Ortonville. Combine with some heavy snow along with a big ice jam and that may have distroyed the old dam.?
Ron Sutton, 77 a life-long village resident says on summer days perhaps 100 residents would gather at the mill pond.
‘It was a great place to fish, swim and cut ice in the winter,? said Sutton, who was 14-years old when the dam washed away. ‘Aesthetically the pond was beautiful and a big part of the village. We fished from the South Street bridge, we’d cast our lines out there in the pond. Lots of bass, blue gills and pike.?
About 1940 the Mill had been converted to electricity and the dam was no longer needed for operation. So following the washout the South Street dam was never replaced.
‘It was a big loss to the village just from a recreational standpoint. After the pond drained we put on skis to keep us from sinking in the mud and walked out in the mud, pulling fish out of the small pools of water that remained. After that it was a least a year before the bridge was repaired,? said Sutton.
Today the mill pond site is home to athletic fields and is part of the Brandon School District.