The Flood of 1955 - First Person Accounts & Photographs
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The Flood of '55 devastated Unionville. Homes were lost and there was extensive damage of both homes and businesses. The Museum has a large collection of photographs, objects, newspapers from the time of the flood. We also have some videos that tell the story of the flood. Tragically, lives were lost, the lives of residents trying to evacuate and the first responders who had rushed to help them.  Below are first person accounts of those who went through the flood or were part of the cleanup as well as photographs showing the extent of the flooding, the damage it caused and some of its victims.
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First Person Accounts

 Edward Durant - The Farmington Flood - August 19, 1955 - Edward Durant tells a harrowing story of spending hours in the waters of the Farmington River at the height of the flood trying to help evacuate and rescue a River Glen family.  All the while he feared for his life and theirs.  River Glen was the hardest hit area of Unionville.  

Patty LeBouthillier, President, Unionville Museum Board - "Memories and Recollections of the Flood of 1955 Farmington and Unionville, Connecticut".  At the time of the Flood Patty and her family lived on the corner of South Main Street & Railroad Avenue.  Her family's home was heavily damaged in the Flood and eventually had to be demolished.

 John McManama - "Flood of '55 Farmington Avenue and Union School".  At the time of the flood John McManama was the Principal of Union School. He and his family lived on Farmington Avenue across from what is now the Morin-Yodkins Memorial Park.  His home was heavily damaged but salvageable. 

Water Everywhere  - At its highest level, the river was 10' above the road.

A view of people looking over flooded South Main Street photographed by Leonard F. Shippee.

This view of the Route 4 bridge shows the flood water pouring over and around it. The Lawton house is in the background to the left.

Water Street looking south, through the Farmington grain yard, across the river to houses on New Britain Avenue.

An aerial view of the Farmington River disconnected from the south side of South Main Street

Catastrophic Damage - 70 homes were lost, 100 were damaged.  Everywhere you looked the ground was covered in 2' of mud and stacks of debris.

Men clearing flood debris. The view looks north across the Farmington River. Ten homes were destroyed on New Britain Avenue including those of the DeVevo, Joska, Curti, Gresh, Hurley, Parrot, McCallum, Dombrowski, Odlum and Roncolli families.

This picture shows how forceful the water must have been to toss these large multi-family dwellings onto their sides. A man living in the house on the right refused to leave and had to be rescued by helicopter. Photograph by United Press Associations.

The south side of Farmington Avenue where 12 homes were lost. The Yodkins- Morin Memorial Park was dedicated on this site in memory of Policeman Charles Yodkins and Joseph Morin. Read their story below.

This photograph of Red Cross workers inspecting a Unionville Home shows how badly many of the structures that remained standing were.

The Victims - Lives were lost, hundreds more were impacted by the total destruction the flood left behind.

The best known victim of the Flood of'55 as it impacted Unionville is Charles Yodkins, a Farmington Police Officer, who drowned trying to rescue a family stranded in River Glen. Here he is after a rescue earlier that day.

Unionville Center - In the foreground you see druggist Paul Flynn, in the background his flooded drugstore, Flynn's. Town Hall is to the right.

Three children in front of a flooded Union School playground. The children are 6 year old William Nolan, his 4 year old brother Dennis and their 6 year old cousin Patty (Flynn) Stepka. The photograph was taken by the boys' father Thomas F. Nolan.

 For more of the heroic story of Officer Yodkins and Joseph Morin, a young college student, who also lost his life in that fatal rescue attempt ​read "Remembering the Heroes of the '55 Flood" which appeared in the August 20, 1995 issue of the Hartford Courant.  The Morin-Yodkins Memorial Park on the south side of Farmington Avenue was created in their honor.