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| Newspaper Headlines |
It
was 124 years ago today that a rare storm, sweeping across the U.S., coupled
with a neglected dam in a Pennsylvania valley town, led to tragedy and
thousands of deaths in the city of Johnstown. |
| Johnstown Waterways |
 |
| Before the Flood |
Floods
were nothing new to Johnstown, Pennsylvania. Built into a river valley along
the Appalachian Plateau, which was located at the confluence of two rivers, and
a man-made lake 14 miles down the mountains; the local residents had dealt with
many high water occasions. At least once a year, the two local rivers would
overflow their banks due to melting snows from the mountains above, or intense rains that got trapped in the valley below, and unleash torrential
amounts of water.
 |
| Water Rushes off Mountains |
Heavy
rains had pummeled the area for days.
The Conemaugh Lake was overflowing, rain ran down into the valley from
the mountains above, and residents, living on a flood plain, thought they knew
what to expect.
But
no one had paid much attention to the redesign of the dam at the South Fork
Fishing and Hunting Club, located high above the city.  |
| The Robber Barons |
The Club, a wealthy man’s retreat that
included Andrew Carnegie and Henry Clay Frick among the members, had re-engineered
the old dam to create the three-mile lake and private mountain retreat for the
rich steel and coal barons of Pittsburgh. No one had seriously considered what
would happen if the dam, ignored by the club and now in desperate need of
repairs, began to fail.
Residents
had been given warning of a flood and had taken precautions by carrying their
belongings up to the second floors of their homes and businesses – standard
procedure for an expected flood.
But this time would be different.
 |
| Wall of Water |
It
was just after 3 p.m. on that dismal Friday afternoon of May 31, 1889 when the
South Fork Dam washed away, and over 20-million tons of water rushed down the
hill and toward the city of Johnstown. |
| Train Car in Flood Wreckage |
The
tumbling torrent carried with it trees, rocks, animals, people,
houses, barns, miles of barbed wire from a destroyed wire factory upriver, even
train cars torn from the railroad bridges in the tiny towns and
communities hit farther upstream.
The
wall of water was over 30 feet high and almost a half-mile wide, traveling at
almost 40 miles per hour when it slammed into Johnstown just after 4
P.M. The northern half of
Johnstown was swept away, over 1,500 buildings and thousands of people – gone.
 |
| Debris at the Old Stone Bridge |
In
the ten minutes it took for the flood to sweep through the city, over 2,200
people were drowned or swept away.
Some of the debris became stuck near the old Stone Bridge. Carried with
it were several flood survivors, clinging to makeshift rafts, hoping to hold on
until help could arrive at daylight.
As the waters receded, debris continued to get stuck and piled up to a
height of 40 feet. Hot coals and
gas began to ignite in the rubble; 80 people died in the flames.
 |
| Survivors on Rubble |
Clara
Barton and The Red Cross arrived soon after, tending the injured, and helping
residents put their lives and their town back together. This was the first
major peacetime disaster that Barton’s newly formed American Red Cross
had responded to.
 |
| Flood Victim's Graves |
In
all, 2,209 died at Johnstown, in the worst flood in the Nation’s history, and
the largest loss of civilian life ever experienced in the United States.
Hundreds
of people were never found; over 750 bodies were never identified and their remains were buried in
The Plot of the Unknown in Grandview Cemetery. Remains were found for months, even years after the flood – The
final remains were found in Cincinnati in 1911. It took the City of Johnstown over five years to recover
from the Flood of 1889.
Although
the collapse of the South Fork Dam was evident as a reason for the flood,
neither the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club, nor its rich owners, were ever found to be responsible for the flood or the damage. However, many of the millionaire members did provide
financial assistance for the rebuilding of the town. Damage was estimated to
be $17-million – over $500-million in today’s economy.
 |
| 1936 Flood |
Subsequent
floods have continued to hit Johnstown hard. In
1936, the St Patrick’s Day floods caused severe damage and left a path of debris all the way to
Pittsburgh.
 |
| Rubble from 1977 Flood |
Again, in July 1977, torrential rains from passing storms flooded the rivers and the
town was under 8 feet of water by dawn the next day. Eighty people died, forty
in a dam failure. Over 50,000 were left homeless, and seven countries, declared as
disaster areas, incurred over $200-million in property damage. The “100
Year Flood” was another one for the record books.
 |
| Photos of the 1889 Flood |
The
Johnstown Flood National Memorial was authorized in 1964 and established in 1969
to commemorate the 2,209 people who died in the 1889 Flood. It contains portions
of the Stone Bridge and remains of the South Fork dam. |
| Point Park |
Today,
at Point Park, an eternal flame burns brightly in memory of the flood victims,
and as a reminder of nature’s destructive power.
~
Joy
*Photos
courtesy of the Johnstown Area Historical Association Archives, WWW.jaha.org and the National Park Service, www.nps.gov
