The story of Runaway Pond is a fascinating part of Northeast Kingdom history. 

On June 6, 1810, workers intending to create a new outlet from Long Pond north to the Barton River, instead, unintentionally caused the banks of the entire body of water to give way. This resulted in a flood throughout the Barton River Valley.  The water ran out of the pond in 1 hour and 15 minutes, but the mud ran out for hours. The water reached Lake Memphremagog in 4 hours and reportedly raised the level there 1 foot.  The initial surge took trees with it, building up a logjam, stopping the flood temporarily until the water pressure behind the jam backed up, causing another breakthrough. This scenario kept recurring in the flood's progress down to Barton. An engineer estimated that the pond must have contained 1.988 billion gallons of water.  The results of the flood can still be seen today in the village of Barton and elsewhere in the Barton River valley.

One of the laborers, Spencer Chamberlain, ran ahead of the flood to warn people at the mill just in time to save their lives. In fact, no lives were lost. This heroic act is commemorated each year on Glover Day (the first day of August) by a road race following the path of the flood.

The wayward pond was forever after known as "Runaway Pond."

‘Runaway Pond: The Complete Story’ is a Compilation of Resources by Wayne H. Alexander. 90 pages,  illustrated. Spiral bound. The nearest thing to a complete collection of contemporary newspaper accounts and other material relating to the 1810 event.