Hydrology
An engineer estimated that Long Pond must have contained of water. It was about long, wide, and averaged from deep and deep in the center. With a surface area of 480 acres, Long Pond exceeded the 100-acre guideline to be considered a lake by today's standards.History
On June 6, 1810 it was a dry summer and the Barton River, which supplied the power for grist mills in Glover and northward, was running very low. At the request of Arron Willson, the local Glover gristmill owner, 60 men and boys attempted to create a new north outlet from Long Pond to the Barton River, but instead, they unintentionally caused the banks of the pond to give way. This resulted in a flood throughout the Barton River Valley. The valley drops from Runaway Pond to Orleans for an average of about per .Lake Memphremagog Watershed Including Barton, Black, and Clyde River Watersheds Water Quality and Aquatic Life Assessment Update, Vermont Agency of Natural Resources Department of Environmental Conservation Monitoring, Assessment and Planning Program December 2015 http://dec.vermont.gov/sites/dec/files/wsm/Basin172015.pdf retrieved November 16, 2016 The initial surge took trees and huge boulders with it, building up a logjam, which stopped the flood temporarily until the water pressure behind the jam built up, causing a breakthrough. This scenario kept recurring in the flood's progress down to Barton. One of the laborers, Spencer Chamberlain, ran ahead of the flood just in time to save Arron Willson's wife, working at the mill. There were no deaths. The water ran out of the pond in 1 hour and 15 minutes, but the mud ran out for hours. The water reachedLegacy
The Runaway Pond is a simple and straightforward example of a disaster to the natural environment inadvertently caused by human activity. The results of the flood can still be seen today at Clark Pond which is just north of the Runaway Pond site, and elsewhere in the Barton River valley. Chamberlain's act is commemorated each year on Glover Day (the last Saturday of July) by a road race following the path of the flood. On June 4, 5, and 6, 2010, the Glover Historical Society sponsored a celebration of the Runaway Pond event.Footnotes
External links
* Alexander, Wayne ''Runaway Pond: The Complete Story; A Compendium of Resources''. The Glover Historical Society and The Little House Desktop Publishing, 2006.