In 1795, Rufus Hyde moved his blacksmith shop down from Meetinghouse Hill to the banks of the stream in what was soon to become the industrial community of Searsville.

Shortly after the turn of the 18th century, three or four small shops were established in Wmsbg and Searsville to specialize in the final processing of these [woolen] goods.

Massachusetts Route 143 leads west from Williamsburg village to Chesterfield and Worthington.

On the morning of May 16, 1874, a flood along Williamsburg's Mill River claimed 139 lives and left nearly 800 victims homeless throughout Hampshire County.

The deluge occurred when the Williamsburg Reservoir Dam unexpectedly burst, sending a twenty-foot wall of water surging into the valley below.

Every town and village along the river's normally placid flow was soon devastated by the great rush of water.

Located over twelve miles from the breached dam in Williamsburg, Northampton was the last town to experience the flood's fury, with four additional victims swept away in the swell.