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Located in Southwestern Pennsylvania, Johnstown Flood National
Memorial, established in 1964, commemorates the Great Johnstown
Flood of May 31, 1889, and preserves the remains of the South
Fork Dam.
After a night of unprecedented rainfall, one of the world's
largest earthen dams collapsed, sending a wall of water over
sixty feet high into the Little Conemaugh River valley. For
nearly ten years, the South Fork Dam held back the majestic
waters of Conemaugh Lake.
By most accounts, the dam failed at 3:10 in the afternoon. An
hour later, the Flood reached Johnstown, 14 miles downstream.
Along the way, the Flood destroyed almost everything in its
path, causing more than $17 million in property damage.
For months, the Conemaugh Valley counted its dead. The death
toll of the Flood would be set at 2,209, although it forever
remained uncertain just how many were killed on that Black
Friday.
Today, visitors to Johnstown Flood National Memorial can stand
inches away from where the dam failed and reflect on the awful
events of that day. Visitors can gain an appreciation of the
historic scene of both before and after the breaking of the
South Fork Dam. In the distance, visitors can also see the
surviving buildings of the South Fork Fishing and Hunting
Club...reminders of a life once lived in the Allegheny Mountains.
South Fork Dam Trivia
1. The Johnstown Flood is considered the first major peacetime
calamity in American History, although debate continues on
whether the flood was a "natural" disaster.
2. The Great Storm of 1889 was the worst in recorded history to
that time. Over eight inches of rain fell near Johnstown. The
storm caused Conemaugh Lake to grow more than thirty percent. It
was estimated that the lake normally held nearly twenty million
tons of water.
3. The South Fork Dam was originally built decades earlier by
the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to serve as a reservoir for the
state's ambitious Main Line of Public Works.
4. Persons from every state and territory in the Union and
sixteen foreign nations contributed to the flood relief effort,
eventually raising more than $3.7 million dollars for the people
of Johnstown.
5. The town's biggest employer, the Cambria Iron Company,
produced over 1/3 of the steel rails used in America, and
employed more than 7,000 in some manner. Some of the furnaces of
Cambria Iron were fired up within days of the disaster.
6. Along the path of the flood, the waters destroyed the
Conemaugh Viaduct, a massive stone arch built for the Allegheny
Portage Railroad over fifty years before.
7. The 1889 flood was considered the first major test for the
newly established American Red Cross. 67-year-old Clara Barton,
known as the "Angel of the Battlefield" for her work in the
Civil War, led the Red Cross effort.
8. One survivor of the Great Flood, Victor G. Heiser, later
helped develop the cure for leprosy.
9. Ninety-nine families had their family genealogies ended on
May 31, 1889.
10. Victims of the Great Flood would be found as late as 1911,
and as far away as Cincinnati, Ohio.
11. The town had a long history of flooding, mostly in the
spring. Deadly floods later affected the Johnstown area in March
of 1936, and again in July of 1977.
12. Every May 31, more than 2,200 candles are lit in memory of
the victims of the Great Flood of 1889. Thousands still come
each year to be part of this tribute.
South Fork Dam Attractions
1. At the park's visitor center, be sure to view the
award-winning film, "Black Friday," which attempts to recreate
the Great Flood. Other exhibits explain the causes and the
effects of the flood.
2. The Johnstown Flood Museum, in downtown Johnstown, preserves
thousands of artifacts associated with the Great Flood. Its
film, produced by Charles Guggenheim, won an Academy Award for
1989.
3. The Johnstown Inclined Plane, which opened in June of 1891,
was built right after the flood to help transport people to the
top of Westmont Hill. The Inclined Plane saved many lives in the
1936 and 1977 Johnstown floods.
4. Grandview Cemetery was only four years old when calamity
struck. Today the cemetery is most associated with the 1889
disaster. More than 710 victims rest in what is called the Plot
of the Unidentified Dead.
5. Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site tells the
story of that marvelous inclined plane railroad that ran from
1834-1854. Parts of the old Portage Railroad were destroyed in
the 1889 Flood.
About the author:
Rick Chapo is with http://www.nomadjournals.com - makers of
travel journals. Writing journals are the perfect travel
accessories. Visit http://www.nomadjournaltrips.com to read more
travel articles and travelogues.
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