May 22

May 22, 1820: The first Carthage bridge collapses due to a structural flaw. The bridge was constructed over the Genesee River gorge from the settlement of Carthage, located just north of Rochester, along the east bank near the lower falls. Completed just 15 months prior, the bridge was hailed as an great engineering accomplishment, rivaling any bridge in the United States or Europe.

Sources and Further Reading:

1.  The History of Rochester and Monroe County (1908); Peck, William; pg 39

Request for proposals for building the Carthage bridge, published in The Rochester Gazzette, October 14, 1817



January 25

January 25, 1982: At 9:25 am, a ruptured steam pipe at the Ginna nuclear power plant results in an emergency as a plume of radioactive gas is leaked into the atmosphere.  Approximately 100 workers were evacuated as the   reactor was put into cold shutdown at 4:30 pm the following day.

Sources and Further Reading:

1. Nuclear Regulatory Commission: GL82011
2. New York Times (May 25, 1982) "Nuclear Plant Mishap Is Explained by Utility"
3. "Ginna nuclear plant leaks radioactive gas", Riley, David, Democrat and Chronicle. Jan 25, 2014 
4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZ0Ml714TKU

NAVIGATE DAY IN HISTORY
>> NEXT EVENT: Feb 8 Irish Relief Committee
<< PREVIOUS EVENT:  Jan 23 Water Supply and Reservoirs

January 8

January 8, 1901: A fire erupts around midnight at the Rochester Orphan Asylum resulting in the death of 31 of the children and staff.

Sources and Further Reading:

1. Newspaper Abstracts.com: Democrat and Chronicle (Jan 9, 1901)
2. Newspaper Abstracts.com: Democrat and Chronicle (Jan 10, 1901)
3. Newspaper Abstracts.com: Democrat and Chronicle (Jan 11, 1901)

NAVIGATE DAY IN HISTORY
>> NEXT EVENT:  Jan 9 City Council Condemns Vietnam War
<< PREVIOUS EVENT:  Jan 5 Arthur Shawcross Serial Killer

December 27

December 27, 1887: The blasting powder mill owned by Rand & Co. in Pittsford (near the present day Powder Mill Park) exploded. The blast was felt and heard as far away as Canandaigua and Avon. No workers were injured.

Sources and Further Reading:

1. Town of Pittsford: Powder Mill Park

NAVIGATE DAY IN HISTORY
>> NEXT EVENT:  Jan 1 Charlotte Annexed, Eastman Dry Plate Co.
<< PREVIOUS EVENT: Dec 22 Massacre at Lewiston

October 29

October 29, 1974: A break in the Barge Canal (present day Erie Canal) near Bushnells Basin floods the nearby neighborhood, destroying one home and damaging forty others. The break was a result of tunneling work under the canal for a sewer project.

Sources and Further Reading:

1. Town of Pittsford website: History
2. New York Times (Oct 30, 1974)