Historian Jeff Murray takes a look into West Hartford’s past to uncover some surprising information, stir up some memories, or reflect on how much life has changed – or hasn’t changed at all. Enjoy this week’s ‘From West Hartford’s Archives’ …

By Jeff Murray

This is the result of flooding not from rain but from a break in the water main on Farmington Avenue near LaSalle Road. Just after 2 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 5, 1946, the 20-inch main at Dale Street broke open and a “geyser” gushed water onto the street for several blocks, flooding store cellars in the Center. Witnesses noted that the manhole cover near the intersection of Dale Street began “quivering and singing” until it was pushed up onto the street. The adjacent sidewalk was forced upward as well by the water pressure.

West Hartford Police Chief Walter Sandstrom and Fire Department Chief Thomas H. Donnelly headed to the scene and directed traffic before blocking off the entire stretch of Farmington Avenue from Woodrow Street to Main Street. Officers ordered all children from the area using the department’s mobile loud speaker. The entire Central Theater audience, which included about 300 children, had to be evacuated entirely.

The water flowed east along Farmington Avenue, seeping into cellars on both sides. S. S. Kresge and McLellan Stores on the north side of Farmington Avenue were the first to report damage, followed by Hilliard’s Candy Kitchen and Krohner’s Bakery on the south side at LaSalle Road. Krohner’s reported heavy losses in flour, jams, jellies, and other supplies they had stored in the basement. Kottenhoff’s Drug Store and West Hartford Furriers also noted some damage, while Sage-Allen survived without a scratch.

The fire department went door to door to help set up sand barricades to hold back any more water as it came over the sidewalks in waves. The most common source of the sand was a number of Christmas tree boxes. Christmas tree boxes were often wooden crates used by stores or vendors to ship and display trees during the holiday season. These boxes were typically filled with sand or dirt to keep them upright and stable while on display (and to add weight to prevent tipping in wind or crowds). Just two weeks after Christmas, people likely grabbed whatever sand was available at the bottoms of these display boxes.

After they were notified, the Metropolitan District Water Bureau shut off the main at Woodrow Street and investigated. Workers came out to the site and used tools to detect hissing, bubbling, or gurgling, which helped pinpoint the location. Once they had a general area, they drilled test holes through the pavement to confirm the location of the break and to see how deep the water was.

These old-school techniques have since been replaced by acoustic leak detection and other sensors, thermal imaging or infrared cameras, ground penetrating radar, and smart water meters and pressure monitoring in some cases.

At the same time, workers from the West Hartford Gas Company shut off gas in buildings with flooded cellars. Christmas street decorations and cars were inundated east to Main Street for a few hours. By 4 p.m., the water began to subside and the West Hartford Street Department went straight to work cleaning up. They used motorized scrapers to clear mud and residue left over.

Less than a year before, in 1945, one of the water mains on Farmington Avenue had broken just east of Trout Brook, which affected gas service and damaged buildings. These two accidents were very likely due to aging infrastructure. The original water main system along Farmington Avenue was built from concrete in the 1860s. Early water infrastructure often used cement or wood pipes. Cement was stronger than wood, but not great for long-term durability, especially underground where moisture, frost, and shifting soil take a toll.

Pipes from the 1860s also weren’t standardized and often lacked uniform joints or modern sealing methods. They were very prone to leaking and difficult to maintain. Between 1875 and 1885, the pipes were steadily replaced by cast iron. Cities across the U.S. were switching to cast iron, which was considered a big leap forward for the era. It was durable, but it was susceptible to corrosion over time. They also weren’t accident-proof and since they were replaced in stretches, the old cement pipes remained in some sections of Farmington Avenue.

There had been water main breaks along Farmington Avenue through the 1890s, making the water company’s workmen a common sight. In 1896, Italian laborers for the water company went on strike (and rioted) in response to working conditions while laying the main at the Reservoir. Breaks after the 1890s affected trolley traffic more than anything, washing under the tracks. Trolley tracks were usually embedded in gravel or pavement, sitting on compact soil. Water main breaks could steadily wash away the soil or gravel under the track, forcing halts in service.

Cast iron pipe replacements along Farmington Avenue were improvements over cement, but cast iron doesn’t flex and over decades, small cracks can form from temperature changes, vibration (especially once cars started driving up above!), and water pressure fluctuations. Corrosion inside the pipes could increase stress and vulnerability to bursting. West Hartford and the board of water commissioners fought constantly into the 1900s about the responsibility of maintenance costs.

Water breaks into the 1910s and 1920s also created a variety of news stories. A massive fire on Grove Street in Elmwood in 1913 engulfed a series of tenement houses occupied by Italian families, fueled by the lack of water due to a nearby break at the same time. A break in the main on Raymond Road in the fall of 1919 led to rumors among schoolchildren that school was canceled – Principal Lloyd Bugbee (future superintendent of schools and future namesake of Bugbee School) showed up that morning and was shocked to see all the students had skipped school.

New streets in suburban West Hartford meant brand new main breaks seemingly every few months. On main roads, like Farmington Avenue, maintenance tended to be reactive rather than proactive. By the 1930s and 1940s, these old cast iron pipes had probably outlived their expected lifespan.

West Hartford servicemen and women were returning home by this point too. After the end of the European theater in May 1945, the U.S. began Operation Magic Carpet to ship millions of military personnel back home via hundreds of ships and troop transports. Trains and buses were packed, ports were crowded, and families gathered at stations to meet loved ones. Towns like West Hartford held parades and local papers ran stories about all the “local boys coming home.” By Christmas 1945, most West Hartford veterans were back home, with some exceptions.

January 1946 was absolutely packed with major events that would shape the second half of the 20th century. The first United Nations General Assembly was held, setting the stage for global diplomacy. Vietnam held its first election, which would spark the First Indochina War as Ho Chi Minh fought against French rule. U.S. involvement in Vietnam after the fall of the French forces would rule over domestic news in the 1960s and 1970s. The predecessor to the CIA was established, forming the role of the Cold War agency that would be pivotal to global espionage, coups, anti-communist infiltrations, and intelligence gathering worldwide. A Communist republic was declared in Albania, reflecting the spread of communism in Eastern Europe.

Americans would face a difficult 1946, despite the end of the war. The U.S. economy struggled to shift from war production to consumer production, leading to massive labor strikes affecting steel, coal, railroads, and meatpacking. Congress would override President Truman’s veto and pass the Taft-Hartley Act in response, which would add new restrictions on unions and labor rights. Racial unrest continued – returning Black veterans were harassed and attacked, even while still in uniform, galvanizing the early civil rights movement. The U.S. would conduct atomic bomb tests across the Pacific, starting the nuclear arms race and Cold War posturing that would instill fear of global annihilation. Before the “wealth and prosperity” of the 1950s, there would be some very interesting years ahead. At least for West Hartford, a water main break would have to do.

The same view at the corner of Farmington Avenue and LaSalle Road. Google Street view

This sink hole at the intersection of LaSalle Road and Farmington Avenue formed when a water main broke in 2014. Photo courtesy of the Town of West Hartford. (we-ha.com file photo)

Jeff Murray was born and raised in West Hartford and has been involved with the Noah Webster House & West Hartford Historical Society since 2011 when he was a high school student and won the Meyer Prize for his essay on local history. Jeff routinely volunteers as local history researcher uncovering information for numerous museum programs such as the West Hartford House Tour and West Hartford Hauntings. Jeff works as a data analyst at Pratt & Whitney.

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