BGuthrie Photos: PA -- Johnstown Flood Natl Memorial

PA -- Johnstown Flood Natl Memorial:

Bruce Guthrie Photos Home Page: [Click here] to go to Bruce Guthrie Photos home page.

Recognize anyone? If you recognize specific folks (or other stuff) and I haven't labeled them, please identify them for the world. Click the little pencil icon

underneath the file name (just above the picture). Spammers need not apply.

Slide Show: Want to see the pictures as a slide show? [Slideshow]

Copyrights: All pictures were taken by amateur photographer Bruce Guthrie (me!) who retains copyright on them. Free for non-commercial use with attribution. See the [Creative Commons] definition of what this means. "Photos (c) Bruce Guthrie" is fine for attribution. (Commercial use folks can of course contact me.) Feel free to use in publications and pages with attribution but you don't have permission to sell the photos themselves. A free copy of any printed publication using any photographs is requested. Descriptive text, if any, is from a mixture of sources, quite frequently from signs at the location or from official web sites; copyrights, if any, are retained by their original owners.

Help? The Medium (Email) links are for screen viewing and emailing. You'll want bigger sizes for printing. [Click here for additional help]

Share: Facebook Twitter Digg
[1] FLOOD_120531_007.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[2] FLOOD_120531_014.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[3] FLOOD_120531_024.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[4] FLOOD_120531_025.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[5] FLOOD_120531_033.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[6] FLOOD_120531_035.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[7] FLOOD_120531_044.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[8] FLOOD_120531_049.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[9] FLOOD_120531_070.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[10] FLOOD_120531_077.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[11] FLOOD_120531_079.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[12] FLOOD_120531_089.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[13] FLOOD_120531_096.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[14] FLOOD_120531_101.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[15] FLOOD_120531_103.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[16] FLOOD_120531_108.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[17] FLOOD_120531_111.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[18] FLOOD_120531_113.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[19] FLOOD_120531_118.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[20] FLOOD_120531_120.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[21] FLOOD_120531_129.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[22] FLOOD_120531_132.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[23] FLOOD_120531_138.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[24] FLOOD_120531_142.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[25] FLOOD_120531_149.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[26] FLOOD_120531_152.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[27] FLOOD_120531_156.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[28] FLOOD_120531_159.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[29] FLOOD_120531_162.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[30] FLOOD_120531_166.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[31] FLOOD_120531_169.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[32] FLOOD_120531_173.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[33] FLOOD_120531_177.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[34] FLOOD_120531_181.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[35] FLOOD_120531_192.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[36] FLOOD_120531_199.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[37] FLOOD_120531_200.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[38] FLOOD_120531_204.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[39] FLOOD_120531_208.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[40] FLOOD_120531_215.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[41] FLOOD_120531_224.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[42] FLOOD_120531_229.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[43] FLOOD_120531_235.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[44] FLOOD_120531_240.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[45] FLOOD_120531_243.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[46] FLOOD_120531_251.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[47] FLOOD_120531_263.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[48] FLOOD_120531_265.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[49] FLOOD_120531_277.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[50] FLOOD_120531_281.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[51] FLOOD_120531_290.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[52] FLOOD_120531_301.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[53] FLOOD_120531_314.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[54] FLOOD_120531_317.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[55] FLOOD_120531_321.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[56] FLOOD_120531_331.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[57] FLOOD_120531_335.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[58] FLOOD_120531_338.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[59] FLOOD_120531_353.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[60] FLOOD_120531_364.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[61] FLOOD_120531_371.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[62] FLOOD_120531_374.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[63] FLOOD_120531_377.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[64] FLOOD_120531_381.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[65] FLOOD_120531_386.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[66] FLOOD_120531_394.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[67] FLOOD_120531_398.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[68] FLOOD_120531_402.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[69] FLOOD_120531_405.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[70] FLOOD_120531_410.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[71] FLOOD_120531_413.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[72] FLOOD_120531_419.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[73] FLOOD_120531_427.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[74] FLOOD_120531_446.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[75] FLOOD_120531_457.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[76] FLOOD_120531_463.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[77] FLOOD_120531_470.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[78] FLOOD_120531_477.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[79] FLOOD_120531_498.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[80] FLOOD_120531_503.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[81] FLOOD_120531_508.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[82] FLOOD_120531_515.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[83] FLOOD_120531_530.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[84] FLOOD_120531_539.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[85] FLOOD_120531_552.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[86] FLOOD_120531_557.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[87] FLOOD_120531_580.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[88] FLOOD_120531_592.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[89] FLOOD_120531_595.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[90] FLOOD_120531_606.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[91] FLOOD_120531_610.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[92] FLOOD_120531_611.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[93] FLOOD_120531_615.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[94] FLOOD_120531_624.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[95] FLOOD_120531_629.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)

Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
1. FLOOD_120531_007.JPG: May 31, 1889: The valley in front of you once cradled a scenic lake. Held back by an earthen dam just below here, Lake Conemaugh stretched more than two miles up the valley to your left. The lake was the heart of an exclusive resort where sailboats caught the mountain breezes, and anglers pursued trophy fish. Everything changed on May 31, 1889. At 3:15 p.m., after record rainfall, the South Fork Dam gave way. In minutes the lake was gone, and in less than an hour a devastating wall of churning water and debris hit the city of Johnstown 14 miles downstream. The death toll exceeded 2,200. Johnstown Flood National Memorial, established by Congress in 1964, commemorates the tragic Johnstown Flood by preserving the remains of the South Fork Dam. Exhibits and programs in the Visitor Center describe the flood's origin and destructive power. A trail from the Visitor Center leads to viewpoints of the historic dam and lakebed. "The scene of destruction presented was unparalleled in the annals of American history...." -- Rev. David J. Beale, A survivor of the Johnstown Flood, 1890
2. FLOOD_120531_025.JPG: Building the Dam: In 1853, the State of Pennsylvania completed the South Fork Dam to provide water for the state canal system. The original earthen dam had been well built: (1) The packed-down or puddled earth made it watertight. (2) The large and unobstructed spillway allowed for a substantial runoff of water. (3) A control tower and (4) discharge pipes regulated the water level. The dam was 72 feet high, 931 feet long, and originally 10 feet wide across the top. The width of the dam at its base was 270 feet. The spillway was 70 feet wide and the bottom of the spillway was 10 feet below the top of the dam. The top of the dam was 450 feet higher than the city of Johnstown 14 miles away. The dam failed the first time in 1862. The Pennsylvania Railroad had neglected the dam after purchasing it in 1857 and five years later the dam gave way. The flood frightened the people of Johnstown, but caused little damage. The lake was not full, the discharge pipes released water before the break, the lake took hours to empty, and the creeks below the dam were low. By 1881, the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club had purchased the site and repaired the dam to make a summer resort. The repaired dam had many flaws: (1) The earth was not puddled and leaks had been poorly repaired. (2) The spillway obstructed by a bridge and fish screens. (3) The control tower had burned, (4) discharge pipes had been removed, and the lake was filled to a depth of 65 to 70 feet. (5) The dam was lowered to widen the road. (6) The dam sagged in the middle where the break had been repaired. The photograph to the right shows the rebuilt dam. Notice the treeless section in the middle where the first break had been repaired. The repaired dam was, in fact, lower than the original dam, but it held much more water. The water level could not be regulated and the spillway was only 7 or 8 feet below the top of the dam.
3. FLOOD_120531_044.JPG: The Dam Gives Way: "The whole dam seemed to push out all at once. No, not a break, just one big push." -- U. Ed Swartzentruver In 1889, the dam gave way. Torrential rains filled the lake and the obstructed spillway could not discharge the water. Water flowing over the top eroded the dam until the pressure from the lake pushed it apart. Telegraph operators at South Fork tapped out three messages on this telegraph key warning Johnstown of the danger. Few people heeded the warnings. They did not evacuate the town. This photograph shows the broken dam and its height before the collapse. The escaping water, flowing down the canyon, was constricted at spots and became a wall of water 70-75 feet high. It was 36 feet high when it struck Johnstown. The flood reached speeds of 40 miles per hour and averaged 15 miles an hour. Several times, choked by debris, it almost sopped. It took 40 minutes for the water to drain from the lake and 57 minutes to hit Johnstown 14 miles downstream.
4. FLOOD_120531_049.JPG: The Lake: Look out the window at the valley before you. Imagine how Lake Conemaugh looked before the 1889 flood. The lake stretched for 2-1/2 miles over 450 acres and in places was 70 feet deep. The water in the lake weighed 20 million tons.
5. FLOOD_120531_079.JPG: A widow in mourning was required to carry a fan. A handbag could also be carried by the widow and would both be made out of dull black crepe material.
6. FLOOD_120531_089.JPG: Victorian Mourning Pendant with two locks of hair that is supposed to be from victims of the Johnstown Flood on 1889.
7. FLOOD_120531_103.JPG: The World's Charity: When dawn broke on June 1, 1889, it revealed in Johnstown ghastly scene unparalleled in American history. Relief for the stricken town was immediate, and came from around the world. One of the first messages sent from the destroyed valley summed up the situation... "We are entirely without food and great suffering is endured. Send coffins. We are without an undertaker. Send at least 200 coffins of all sizes." -- F.P. Martin, Solicitor for Cambria Borough Among the first to offer help were the locals from the hills around town, including farmers and laborers. When they arrived, they saw scenes like this... The Pennsylvania Railroad, knowing the need to have its trains moving quickly, swiftly rebuilt its tracks east and west of town. Governor James Beaver sent Adjutant General Daniel H. Hastings to town. The state militia had a strong presence in Johnstown that summer. The press told stories of looting, which rarely happened, and wild stories of lynchings, which never happened. Eventually, all who came to town, for whatever reason, had to have a pass like this. Survivors had to complete forms like this to receive relief funds. Among the most important and dedicated workers were the morticians and undertakers. Their work helped restore dignity to the Flood's victims. Persons of many faiths and ethnicities wanted to be part of the Flood effort. For example, a group of Chinese residents from Pittsburgh sent $124 to Johnstown upon learning that some Chinese residents in Johnstown died in the Flood. The Flood quickly became the biggest news story of its day. Reporters wired thousands of words from Johnstown. Much of what these reporters wrote was nonsense, but their words opened the hearts, and wallets, of people around the world. The American Red Cross arrived on the scene just a few days after the Flood. Part of the effort was led by its founder, Clara Barton, who was 67 at the time. "For five weary months it was our portion to live amid these scenes of destruction, desolation, poverty, want and woe. sometimes in tents, sometimes without; in rain or mud..." -- Clara Barton By providing food, clothing, and shelter, as well as medical attention, the Red Cross helped thousands of survivors in these painful months of recovery. For the Johnstown effort, the Red Cross employed over fifty men and women, both paid and volunteer. It has been estimated that nearly 25,000 people were helped, at a cost of about $250,000. In the months after the Flood, the threat of disease was held to a minimum, thanks to countless hours of hard work dedicated to cleaning the disaster area. All 38 states and the District of Columbia provided financial aid to the relief efforts. International support for Johnstown came from fourteen countries, including: Austria -- $1,481 Canada -- $8,254 England -- $42,909 France -- $25,025 Germany -- $37,065 Ireland -- $18,252 Saxony -- $2,637 The work continued even beyond May 31, 1892, when this monument to the Unknown Dead was dedicated. The effects of the Johnstown Flood would be felt in this area for generations. Nearly everyone wanted to help in some manner. Businessmen, celebrities, politicians, and everybody else opened their hearts and wallets for those in the Conemaugh Valley. Persons of all faiths and ethnicities, including African-Americans, worked together to rebuild the city from the destruction caused by the cataclysm. A major priority was the clearing of the rivers, especially near the Stone Bridge. Sometimes it was too much for human muscle; dynamite experts were brought to town. A total of $3,752,818.78 was collected for Johnstown from around the world.
8. FLOOD_120531_108.JPG: When dawn broke on June 1, 1889, it revealed in Johnstown ghastly scene unparalleled in American history. Relief for the stricken town was immediate, and came from around the world. One of the first messages sent from the destroyed valley summed up the situation... "We are entirely without food and great suffering is endured. Send coffins. We are without an undertaker. Send at least 200 coffins of all sizes." -- F.P. Martin, Solicitor for Cambria Borough Among the first to offer help were the locals from the hills around town, including farmers and laborers. When they arrived, they saw scenes like this... Governor James Beaver sent Adjutant General Daniel H. Hastings to town. The state militia had a strong presence in Johnstown that summer. The press told stories of looting, which rarely happened, and wild stories of lynchings, which never happened. Eventually, all who came to town, for whatever reason, had to have a pass like this.
9. FLOOD_120531_111.JPG: The press told stories of looting, which rarely happened, and wild stories of lynchings, which never happened. Eventually, all who came to town, for whatever reason, had to have a pass like this.
10. FLOOD_120531_113.JPG: The Flood quickly became the biggest news story of its day. Reporters wired thousands of words from Johnstown. Much of what these reporters wrote was nonsense, but their words opened the hearts, and wallets, of people around the world. For the Johnstown effort, the Red Cross employed over fifty men and women, both paid and volunteer. It has been estimated that nearly 25,000 people were helped, at a cost of about $250,000. A total of $3,752,818.78 was collected for Johnstown from around the world.
11. FLOOD_120531_118.JPG: Survivors had to complete forms like this to receive relief funds. Among the most important and dedicated workers were the morticians and undertakers. Their work helped restore dignity to the Flood's victims. Persons of many faiths and ethnicities wanted to be part of the Flood effort. For example, a group of Chinese residents from Pittsburgh sent $124 to Johnstown upon learning that some Chinese residents in Johnstown died in the Flood. The American Red Cross arrived on the scene just a few days after the Flood. Part of the effort was led by its founder, Clara Barton, who was 67 at the time. "For five weary months it was our portion to live amid these scenes of destruction, desolation, poverty, want and woe. sometimes in tents, sometimes without; in rain or mud..." -- Clara Barton By providing food, clothing, and shelter, as well as medical attention, the Red Cross helped thousands of survivors in these painful months of recovery.
12. FLOOD_120531_120.JPG: In the months after the Flood, the threat of disease was held to a minimum, thanks to countless hours of hard work dedicated to cleaning the disaster area. All 38 states and the District of Columbia provided financial aid to the relief efforts. International support for Johnstown came from fourteen countries, including: Austria -- $1,481 Canada -- $8,254 England -- $42,909 France -- $25,025 Germany -- $37,065 Ireland -- $18,252 Saxony -- $2,637 The work continued even beyond May 31, 1892, when this monument to the Unknown Dead was dedicated. The effects of the Johnstown Flood would be felt in this area for generations. Nearly everyone wanted to help in some manner. Businessmen, celebrities, politicians, and everybody else opened their hearts and wallets for those in the Conemaugh Valley. Persons of all faiths and ethnicities, including African-Americans, worked together to rebuild the city from the destruction caused by the cataclysm. A major priority was the clearing of the rivers, especially near the Stone Bridge. Sometimes it was too much for human muscle; dynamite experts were brought to town.
13. FLOOD_120531_129.JPG: The Storm: "It commenced to rain here on Thursday night at 9 o'clock, May 30, 1889. It rained very hard up till Friday noon, May 31st. All the streams that empty into the reservoir were overflowed; large trees and logs of all kinds went into the reservoir; it took logs away from my place that had been here for forty years." -- John Lovette, a sawmill operator owner along the South Fork Creek The region had been greatly saturated from the heavy and consistent rains. Runoff from the storms was immediate. During May of 1889, heavy storms were frequent and local rains and drizzles were common. Records at the time indicated this as the wettest May and the highest level of rainfall ever recorded between May 30 to June 1.
14. FLOOD_120531_132.JPG: The Attitudes of People; "Nobody seemed particularly concerned at the time over the dam which rich Pittsburghers had maintained high up on the South Fork... When the earthen dam had first been constructed, there had been some apprehension. But the dam had never burst and, with the passage of time, the townspeople ... grew calloused to the possibility of danger. "Sometime," they thought, "that dam will give way, but it won't ever happen to us." -- Victor Heiser, 16 year old survivor of the Flood
15. FLOOD_120531_138.JPG: The Republican Monopoly Pleasure Club and Its Dangerous Dam [High Tariff Dam]
16. FLOOD_120531_142.JPG: A View of the Club: Until recently, only a handful of images depicted the activities of the Club. Much appreciation is extended to Virginia Anthony Clarke, who made an important discovery in 1989. Tucked away in the attic of her New Hampshire home were photographs taken by her grandfather.
17. FLOOD_120531_152.JPG: The South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club: During the 1870s and 1880s, fishing and hunting became less a necessity and more a recreational activity. Throughout the Northeast, many elite clubs formed which promoted fishing and hunting. Before Johnstown became a steel town, many local residents believed that the area would make a fine resort, including editor James Moore Swank, who wrote... "The attractions of Johnstown as a place of summer resort for the residents of the large cities are not appreciated... either at home or abroad. Our scenery is grand beyond description, neighboring streams large and numerous; drives good; women beautiful and accomplished; men all gentlemen and scholars; hotels as good as the best." -- Cambria Tribune, July 26, 1860 The club was mysterious then and remains a mystery today.
18. FLOOD_120531_159.JPG: The Members: Benjamin Ruff, a realtor and former tunnel contractor, became the co-founder and first president of the Club. Colonel Elias J. Unger, whose property you are on now, became the second and last president after Ruff's death in 1887. To hear Colonel Unger's account of what happened here on May 31, 1889, visit the exhibit outside his former home next to the visitor center. Henry Clay Frick started his business life as a bookkeeper, invested in Carnegie's ventures, and amassed his first million by the age of 30. Andrew Carnegie remains to be one of the best known of the great American capitalists.
19. FLOOD_120531_162.JPG: Philander Knox was a powerful Pittsburgh attorney who later became a U.S. Senator and Attorney General. Andrew Mellon was a powerful Pittsburgh banker who helped give Henry Clay Frick his start in the business world. He later became Secretary of the Treasury. Daniel J. Morrell was head of the Cambria Iron Company in Johnstown, served in the House of Representatives and was a president of the American Iron and Steel Association.
20. FLOOD_120531_166.JPG: Before Johnstown became a steel town, many local residents believed that the area would make a fine resort, including editor James Moore Swank, who wrote... "The attractions of Johnstown as a place of summer resort for the residents of the large cities are not appreciated... either at home or abroad. Our scenery is grand beyond description, neighboring streams large and numerous; drives good; women beautiful and accomplished; men all gentlemen and scholars; hotels as good as the best." -- Cambria Tribune, July 26, 1860
21. FLOOD_120531_177.JPG: Lake Conemaugh: In 1889 the valley in front of you held one of the largest man-made lakes of its time, containing an estimated 480 million cubic feet of water. Lake Conemaugh extended from the dam just below this point more than 2 miles to your left, with an average width of 1/2 mile. The dam had been completed in 1853 to supply water for the Pennsylvania Main Line canal, but was abandoned a few years later when the railroad rendered the canal obsolete. From 1881-1889 the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club, an assocation of Pittsburgh steel and coal magnates, owned the dam and lake. On the opposite shore they built a 47-room clubhouse and 16 elegant cottages. Club members took to the water in rowboats and sailing canoes, as well as two fine steam yachts. Stocked bass and trout provided great sport. However, by 1889, neglect and unsound alterations by the Club had dangerously weakened the dam. "The fine body of water and the romantic surroundings of the place, it is thought, would make the resort the most popular on the mountain." -- Johnstown Daily Tribune, August 10, 1885
22. FLOOD_120531_181.JPG: The Dam Melts Away: Just below you stands the remains of the South Fork Dam, a 931-foot-long dam made chiefly of earth. The dam remains intact on the ends where it joins the sides of the valley. But at its center, a 300-foot section is gone. Through this chasm the waters of Lake Conemaugh roared on May 31, 1889. On that rainy morning, Col. Elias J. Unger began supervising efforts to save the dam. Unger, who was then President of the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club, lived in the house beside this exhibit. With a crew of some 15 laborers he tried to dig an auxiliary spillway on the far end of the dam, then tried to make the dam higher by plowing the dam's crest and piling up the dirt. Nothing worked. At 3:15 p.m., the dam gave way. The center of the dam seemed to "melt away" under the force of the flood. And, as one witness observed, "the entire lake began to move." "God have mercy on the people below." -- Rev. G. W. Brown, Eyewitness at South Fork Dam, May 31, 1889 Chronology of the Failure May 31, 1889: 8:00am: The water level in Lake Conemaugh rises -- now at an alarming rate -- after a day and a night of heavy rain. 10:00 am. Work crews directed by Col. Elias Unger try to dig an emergency spillway, and to make the dam higher. 11:00 am: John Parke, resident engineer, rides 2-1/2 miles downstream to alert the citizens of South Fork. A warning is telegraphed from there to Johnstown. 11:30am: Water begins flowing over the top of the dam. 1:00 pm: The outer face of the dam erodes severely, as the water continues to rise. 2:30 pm: Col. Unger abandons emergency repair efforts. 3:15 pm: The dam gives way, and the lake begins to drain. 4:00 pm: Lake Conemaugh empties, just as the devastating flood wave strikes Johnstown 14 miles downstream.
23. FLOOD_120531_192.JPG: The bags were being set up for the illumination event that evening
24. FLOOD_120531_208.JPG: Introducing the video
25. FLOOD_120531_215.JPG: The morgue books recorded the awful truth The ones that got me were the ones that they couldn't even identify the sex of. "Unknown both as to name and sex, burned."
26. FLOOD_120531_235.JPG: The Spillway: "... there was no doubt that if the spillway had been of sufficient capacity, the disaster would not have occurred." -- American Society of Civil Engineers, June 22, 1889 When properly designed and maintained, dams made of earth can hold back huge bodies of water. However, water must never be allowed to run over the top of an earth dam. Running water can rapidly erode an embankment, causing a dam to give way. It was this "overtopping" that doomed the South Fork Dam. The dry, rocky channel is front of you was the dam's spillway. Designed to prevent overtopping, it should have allowed excess water to escape during floods. Why didn't it save the dam? (1) The spillway was not wide enough or deep enough to handle the flow which increased dramatically after the heavy rains. (2) The spillway was the only outlet. Pipes and valves originally installed at the base of the dam to release water had been removed. (3) Heavy metal screens had been fixed to the bottom of the spillway bridge to keep fish from escaping. The screen impeded the water. Before the flood, the spillway resembled a picturesque mountain stream. The dam's builders carved the spillway through bedrock that floodwaters would not erode. This 1887 photo was taken just downstream of this point. This floating, V-shaped structure made of timbers armed with spikes was attached to the spillway bridge. It was intended to catch debris before it could clog the spillway, but may actually have impeded water during the flood. Map of the dam and spillway before the flood. When the lake level rose on May 31, 1889, water that could not escape through the spillway washed over the dam. A bridge across the spillway was equipped with screens to prevent fish from escaping downsteam. The modern bridge you see today was built by the National Park Service.
27. FLOOD_120531_240.JPG: The Spillway
28. FLOOD_120531_243.JPG: This entire valley was the lake
29. FLOOD_120531_290.JPG: You can see where the dam had been. There are observation decks on either side of the embankment and the collapsed portion is the gap in the middle.
30. FLOOD_120531_317.JPG: May 31, 1889 -- "The dam is becoming dangerous" Italian immigrant laborers with picks and shovels dug at the earth here in a desperate attempt to save the dam. If the dam were to collapse, they would be swept to their deaths. These men had been hired that spring to dig a sewer system for the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club. They had been sleeping in tents in the nearby woods the night that the biggest storm of the century hit the mountains surrounding Lake Conemaugh. The next morning, the men were pressed into service digging a second spillway in a last, heroic effort to prevent one of the worst disasters in American history. John G. Parke, Jr., had just graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in civil engineering. His first job after graduation was to design a sewer system for a resort owned by rich Pittsburgh businessmen known as the South Fork Fishing & Hunting Club. On the morning of May 31, 1889, he found himself on horseback galloping back and forth across the dam to work where he thought they could do the most good. But he feared that a disaster of monstrous proportions was unfolding before them.
31. FLOOD_120531_331.JPG: The South Fork Dam: You are now standing on what remains of the South Fork Dam. Completed in 1853, the dam was made chiefly of earth. Layers of clay one-foot-thick or less were built up one by one. Each layer was covered with a skim of water, or "puddled," to help it settle and harden. Five large outlet pipes were installed under the dam to discharge water safely. Slopes were faced with stone. The dam's only inadequacy was its spillway (on the other side) which was too small. Although well-engineered for its time, years of neglect and unsound alterations had made the dam unsafe. By 1889, the water control tower had burned down, and the iron outlet pipes had been removed, making it impossible to control the lake level. Earlier breaches in the dam had been improperly filled with stone, dirt, brush, and even manure. The dam had settled and sagged at the center, inviting a washout. In addition, fish screens had reduced the capacity of the spillway to handle overflow. On May 31, 1889, under the force of rising floodwaters, the dam gave way, creating the gaping hole in front of you. From here the flood wave thundered 14 miles downstream to Johnstown, killing more than 2,200. "The dam itself, or the parts of it which were left standing, showed undoubtedly that it was well and thoroughly built...." -- American Society of Civil Engineers, January 15, 1890 The South Fork Dam 1853: Artist's conception of a cross section of the South Fork Dam in 1853, the year it was completed. By the time of the flood, the dam had changed. The control tower had burned, the outlet pipes had been scrapped, and the stone culvert had been filled in. Remains of the culvert are often visible from this viewpoint.
32. FLOOD_120531_353.JPG: Into the Lakebed: Two Miles Long, One Mile Wide! You are at the approximate level of Lake Conemaugh on May 30, 1889. Notice that it is only a matter of feet to the top of the dam. After a night of torrential rain, the lake was rising a foot an hour by the morning of May 31, while the storm continued to rage. Everyone there knew that if the water began to flow over the top, the dam would quickly erode and then break. As you across the South Fork Creek, you can see a heavy timber ridge, which the National Park Service has reconstructed over the original spillway. The various tributaries that flowed into the lake had become raging torrents as a result of the storm, ripping out trees and picking up debris along their banks. The current in the lake flowed toward the spillway, carrying the debris with it. The only means of letting out the excess water in the lake was the spillway, and it was becoming jammed.
33. FLOOD_120531_371.JPG: "It looked as though the whole valley were under water." The hillside above the spillway looks much the same as it did in 1889. It was the farm of Colonel Elias J. Unger, the last president of the South Fork Fishing & Hunting Club. Mr. Unger had retired from the hotel business in Pittsburgh to the little farm above Lake Conemaugh. He awoke at 6am on May 31, 1889, but the nightmare was just beginning. He looked out the window and was startled by what he saw. He said later, "It looked as though the whole valley were under water." He put on his coat and ran down to the dam.
34. FLOOD_120531_377.JPG: "Such was the price that was paid for fish" Colonel Unger and his men at the dam struggled to remove an iron screen attached to the bottom of the spillway bridge, but it was jammed with debris that would not budge. The screen had been installed years before to keep fish from escaping from the lake. In the summer of 1881, the South Fork Fishing & Hunting Club stocked the lake with 1,000 black bass, which had been transported by special railroad tank car from Lake Erie at a cost of about a dollar a fish. After the flood, people were particularly bitter about the fish screens. A man by the name of Isaac Reed wrote a popular poem at the time which began: Many thousands human lives -- Butchered husbands, slaughtered wives ... Mangled daughters, bleeding sons, Hosts of martyred little ones, (Worse than Herod's awful crime) Sent to heaven before their time; Lovers burnt and sweethearts drowned, Darlings lost but never found! All the horrors that hell could wish, Such was the price that was paid for -- fish!
35. FLOOD_120531_381.JPG: The Lakebed -- 70 Feet Deep in Some Places: This spot was under as much as 65 feet of water when the boats of the South Fork Fishing & Hunting Club glided across the surface of Lake Conemaugh. The historical photograph shown here was taken by a young club member named Louis Semple Clarke; it is part of a collection that was discovered 100 years after the Johnstown Flood of 1889. Louis Semple Clarke From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Louis Semple Clarke, or Simpson Clarke or simply LS was born in 1866 to Charles John Clarke, the son of Thomas Shields Clarke (1801 – 1867). Family Thomas Shields Clarke started out with a single river boat the "Beaver" in 1832, then by 1842 he and his brother in law William Thaw started Clarke and Co and by 1855 his son Charles joined the firm. Originally the firm was called Clarke and Thaw and over 15 years operated a fleet of steam boats which traveled all the way to New Orleans and was the designate shipping firm for all shipping west of Pittsburgh for the Pennsylvania Railroad. Louis was born into an influential family at an influential time in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, a time of great economic expansion and innovation for the region and country. The names which the Clarkes associated themselves were Andrew Carnegie, Andrew Mellon and Henry Clay Frick to name a few of the more notorious all of whom were also members of the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club, the club's dam which broke in May 1889 caused the largest man-made disaster in US history at the time, the Johnstown flood. Louis was inspired at this time of innovation and took a keen interest in new inventions and technologies. Louis's inventive nature propelled him to build a handmade camera, with which he took many of the photos which are now part of the county's historical treasure trove. As an avid photographer he was the primary person who documented the SFFHC activities prior and after the dam's collapse in May 1889. The glass plates used to take the pictures surfaced 100 years later when his granddaughter in 1991 found them in the attic. At the time she called Charles Guggenheim who had just finished a documentary on the Johnstown Flood and would win an academy award for short documentary in 1991. Additionally, the film was narrated by David McCullough who had also written a book the Johnstown Flood in 1968 with various pictures including a picture of Louis. Louis was probably the last man at the age of 22 to join the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club, as his membership stock certificate is dated April 1889, although he attended the club under his father's membership since his father and various other members had founded the club in May 1879. He and other younger members were energetic about all things mechanical and given the times they placed a small steam engines on boats to cruise across Lake Conemaugh and often LS would dress up as a sailor and "man" his station. The Autocar Company LS was an educated engineer and in the 1890s started working with his brother Charles developing motorized vehicles resulting in the Pittsburgh Motor Vehicle Company supported by brothers, John S. and James K. Clarke along with their father Charles and friend William Morgan in 1897. Initial production included a motorized tricycle and a small car, which the brothers called "The Pittsburgher." In 1899, the name of the company was changed to "The Autocar Company," and operations were relocated to Ardmore, Pennsylvania, a western suburb of Philadelphia. In 1901 they produced what is considered to be this country's first multi-cylinder, shaft driven car. Initial sales brochures touted that it "cannot blow up or burn up" as well as its ease of control, to the point he taught his wife to drive, making her the first known woman driver in the county. The new design was driven from Ardmore to the Madison Square Garden, New York City, in six hours and fifteen minutes, where it was exhibited in the New York Automobile Show of December 1901. The first eight hundred cars were equipped with steering levers, but new innovations helped the Autocar to generate another revolution in innovative design, placing the steering wheel on the left hand side of the car thus establishing the reason we currently drive on the right hand side of the road. Under the Clarke brothers, the company was an early innovator, developing the first porcelain-insulated spark plugs– a process patented and later sold to Champion, and which still remains the basis for today's spark plugs. Other early developments included the first American shaft-drive vehicle, double-reduction gear drives, and the recirculating lube–oil system. They even contributed toward the war effort with their engineering abilities as Louis also designed a naval bomb fuse which had been adopted as standard and also had been adopted for army use. His son Louis Phillips or LP during the war was responsible for detonating bombs in the US and France. According to the National Cyclopedia of American Biography, "For approximately the first ten years of the Autocar company's existence Clarke was president and chief engineer of the company. In later years he served the company as vice-president and consulting engineer. He sold his interested in the Autocar Co. in 1929 and retired at that time." West Palm Beach Charles John Clarke (1833-1899) was one of the pioneers of Palm Beach, where he established a winter residence in the early ‘80s. Louis's father may have been a winter visitor to the Lake Worth area as early as 1885 when he appeared in a photo with hunting and fishing party near Jupiter lighthouse. He was from Pittsburgh, where he operated a fleet of boats providing transportation between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh with his partner and brother-in-law, William Thaw. Charles liked the area so much from his first visit that he and Louisa spent the winter of 1890 - 1891 at Elijah N. Dimick's "Cocoanut Grove House" Palm Beach's only hotel at the time. The following winter, Clarke bought the hotel along with about 50 acres (200,000 m2) of land from the Lake Trail to the ocean beach. He also bought 10 acres (40,000 m2) more on the South Lake Trail, where the Society of the Four Arts stands today. This estate he named "Primavera," (Springtime). He then had constructed Palm Beach's first non-wooden residence, the first to have a genuine tile roof instead of wooden shingles, with white stucco outer walls instead of the usual shingles or clapboard. When the house was completed and landscaped at No. 8 South Lake Trail, he and Louisa moved in. Louis also bought property in Palm Beach in 1892. Located on his father's estate, he named it "Dulciora", located on Lake Trail South, which is one of the most attractive estates at Palm Beach. His kept his summer home in Haverford, Pennsylvania. Additionally, his brother's Thomas Shields Clarke a famous artist of the time, John and James also purchased property and helped to establish the new community of West Palm Beach where they entertained their affluent friends from Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. By the 1920s West Palm had become the oasis of the East for the wealthy including the Kennedy's. Louis had two children, Winifred and L. Phillips. Winifred, married a West Palm Beach pioneer, Roscoe Tait Anthony and is credited with having started the first Sunday School in Palm Beach and L. Phillips Clarke was an architect and with his partner, Henry Stephen Harvey, they opened a West Palm Beach office in 1921 and designed many of the buildings in Palm Beach and West Palm Beach including the Comeau Building, the Murray Building, Guaranty Building, Gus' Baths, Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, and the Palm Beach County Library all of which represent the style of an aspiring time and most are on the national register for Spanish Colonial/Mission Revival design. Late Life After retirement LS lived and died in West Palm Beach on January 6, 1957, survived by his two children and a multitude of grand and great grandchildren. The Autocar Company was purchased by White Motor Company in 1953 which continued to make Autocar Trucks and then was then purchased by Volvo in 1981 which continued make Autocar Trucks although they were called Volvo Autocar but still used the familiar bow tie name plate until 2001 when it was sold to Grand Vehicle Works Holdings which manufacturers refuse vehicles in Hagerstown Indiana.
36. FLOOD_120531_398.JPG: "On old state maps it was the Western Reservoir." The original dam was built by the state of Pennsylvania to create a reservoir for the western portion of the Pennsylvania Mainline Canal and completed in the 1850's [sic]. It had a control mechanism consisting of a sluice gate with five very large cast iron pipes that enter a stone culvert extending 270 feet through the base of the dam. The foundation stones that are still visible here are all that remain of the culvert. A valve tower out in the lake regulated the flow of the water out through the pipes. After a breach in 1862, the lake was completely drained, the valve tower burned down, and the cast iron pipes were moved. After a series of owners, the property was purchased by the South Fork Fishing & Hunting Club in 1879. When the dam was patched under their ownership, this vital control system was never replaced. The only means left to get rid of excess water from the lake was the spillway, and on the morning of May 31, 1889, it was jammed with debris from the storm. The level of the lake continued to rise at an alarming rate. It was just a matter of time before the water would flow over the top of the dam, causing it to break. John Parke rode his horse to the town of South Fork to send a telegraph warning to Johnstown. The roads were in terrible shape because of the storm, but he made the two mile ride in just ten minutes.
37. FLOOD_120531_405.JPG: "It just seemed like a mountain coming." At approximately 3:15 on the afternoon of May 31, 1889, the dam gave way. Twenty million tons of water rushed through the breach "roaring like a mighty battle," an eyewitness said. It was as though Niagara Falls thundered into the river valley for about thirty-five minutes. Look downriver and imagine the unleashing of the destructive force that shaved wooded hillsides down to bare rock, snapped huge trees like toothpicks, moved 80-ton railroad locomotives about like toys, and lifted houses from their foundations tossing them about before crushing them. It took the water about an hour to travel the 14 miles of river channel to Johnstown and only 10 minutes to destroy the city.
38. FLOOD_120531_413.JPG: "No pen can describe..." "Well, the reservoir came, and Johnstown went visiting. Some of us on very long visits indeed -- never to come back. All that is left to most of us is the ground the town was built on, and even that is not the same." -- Johnstown Tribute, June 14, 1889
39. FLOOD_120531_446.JPG: 20,000,000 Tons of Water: "Trees four feet in diameter, roots, branches, everything went before it like toys..." -- W. Y. Boyer, Eyewitness at South Fork Dam, May 31, 1889 In 1889, the watershed above this dam, covering 48 square miles, was hit with a phenomenal rainstorm. The night before the flood, a pail left outside near the dam collected eight inches of rainwater! Swelling streams poured into the lake, increasing its normal volume 33%. When the dam failed, an estimated 20,000,000 tons of water pushed through the gap in front of you. During the 45 minutes or so it took for the lake to drain, the volume of escaping water roughly equaled the flow over Niagara Falls. A 30 to 60-foot-high flood wave swept down the valley to your right toward Johnstown, at speeds averaging 40 miles per hour. The churning water swept up earth, stones, trees, livestock, houses, and debris as it advanced, adding to its destructive power and horrifying appearance. Witnesses describe a dark mist which hung over the wave, and an ominous sound like thunder. Seconds after the dam gave way, the wave smashed two farmhouses just below here, erasing even their foundations. Walking or climbing on the slopes of the dam is hazardous, and may damage the historic earthworks by promoting eroising. Please stay on the trail. View of the break in the dam from downstream not long after the flood. The photographer's dashed line indicates the elevation of the dam before it gave way. The floodwaters removed 90,000 cubic yards of earth and stone from the dam in less than an hour. The flood way hit the Day Express, a passenger train from Pittsburgh, about two miles upstream of Johnstown at East Conemaugh. Many passengers saw and heard the wave approaching, and escape to high ground. Twenty-two were killed.
40. FLOOD_120531_477.JPG: Wind turbines on the distant hill
41. FLOOD_120531_508.JPG: The Unger House: Col. Elias J. Unger, who served as manager of the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club, built this house in the mid-1880s. From here he had a commanding view of the club's lake and dam. On May 31, 1889, Unger supervised a group of laborers in a desperate attempt to save the dam. Defeated by the waters, Unger trudged back up the hill to his house and collapsed as the flood wave roared toward Johnstown. The aging Unger House and property were added to Johnstown Flood National Memorial in 1981 to help preserve the historic scene. The house had been abandoned for more than a decade, but the National Park Service was able to save most of the house and return it to its 1889 appearance. Restoration work was completed in 1989, 100 years after the great flood. "Thursday night when I went to bed the water was no higher than usual; but it rained that night, and when I rose in the morning the water was high. I went down to the dam and soon found the water in the big body rising an inch in every 10 minutes." -- Elias J. Unger, Pittsburgh Post interview, June 3, 1889 The Unger House in October 1984, before restoration. Preservation specialists removed and replaced rotted sections of timber, and replicated missing hardware. Today the exterior looks much as it did in 1889.
42. FLOOD_120531_580.JPG: "Calm Before the Storm" Robert L. Hunt, Altoona, Pennsylvania Special award winner, Paint America, 2007
Multi Column: Number of columns of thumbnails to appear per page (normally defaults to 3): [1 col] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]
Wikipedia Description: Johnstown Flood
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Johnstown Flood disaster (or Great Flood of 1889 as it became known locally) occurred on May 31, 1889. It was the result of the failure of the South Fork Dam situated 14 miles (23 km) upstream of the town of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, USA, made worse by several days of extremely heavy rainfall. The dam's failure unleashed a torrent of 20 million tons of water (18.1 million cubic meters/ 4.8 billion gallons). The flood killed over 2,200 people and produced US$17 million of damage. It was the first major disaster relief effort handled by the new American Red Cross, led by Clara Barton. Support for victims came from all over the United States and 18 foreign countries.

History:

Founded in 1793 by Swiss immigrant Joseph Johns, Johnstown began to prosper with the building of the Pennsylvania Main Line Canal in 1836 and the arrival of the Pennsylvania Railroad and the Cambria Iron Works in the 1850s. By 1889, Johnstown was a town of Welsh and German immigrants. With a population of 30,000, it was a growing industrial community known for the quality of its steel.

The high, steep hills of the narrow Conemaugh Valley and the Allegheny Mountains range to the east kept development close to the riverfront areas, and subjected the valley to large amounts of rain and snowfall. The area surrounding the town of Johnstown was prone to flooding due to its position at the confluence of the Stony Creek and Little Conemaugh River, forming the Conemaugh River, and to the artificial narrowing of the riverbed for the purposes of development.

South Fork Dam and Lake Conemaugh:

High in the mountains, near the small town of South Fork, the South Fork Dam was originally built between 1838 and 1853 by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as part of the canal system to be used as a reservoir for the canal basin in Johnstown. It was abandoned by the commonwealth, sold to the Pennsylvania Railroad, and sold again to private inte ...More...
Bigger photos? To save server space, the full-sized versions of these images have either not been loaded to the server or have been removed from the server. (Only some pages are loaded with full-sized images and those usually get removed after three months.) I still have them though. If you want me to email them to you, please send an email to guthrie.bruce@gmail.com and I can email them to you, or, depending on the number of images, just repost the page again will the full-sized images.
Directly Related Pages: Other pages with content (PA -- Johnstown Flood Natl Memorial) directly related to this one: [Display ALL photos on one page]:
- 2016_PA_Johnstown_FloodR: PA -- Johnstown Flood Natl Memorial -- Exhibit: 125 Years of Remembering the Johnstown Flood (37 photos from 2016)
- 2016_PA_Johnstown_FloodA: PA -- Johnstown Flood Natl Memorial -- 127th Anniversary (46 photos from 2016)
- 2016_PA_Johnstown_Flood: PA -- Johnstown Flood Natl Memorial (46 photos from 2016)
- 2012_PA_Johnstown_FloodC: PA -- Johnstown Flood Natl Memorial -- Club (36 photos from 2012)
- 2012_PA_Johnstown_FloodA: PA -- Johnstown Flood Natl Memorial -- 123rd Anniversary (53 photos from 2012)
- 2009_PA_Johnstown_Flood: PA -- Johnstown Flood Natl Memorial (44 photos from 2009)
- 2005_PA_Johnstown_Flood: PA -- Johnstown Flood Natl Memorial (4 photos from 2005)
- 2003_PA_Johnstown_FloodC: PA -- Johnstown Flood Natl Memorial -- Club (1 photo from 2003)
- 2003_PA_Johnstown_Flood: PA -- Johnstown Flood Natl Memorial (12 photos from 2003)
Same Subject: Click on this link to see coverage of items having the same subject: [History 1800s (excl wars)] [Park (National Park Service)]
2012 photos: Equipment this year: My mainstays were the Fuji S100fs, Nikon D7000, and the new Fuji X-S1. I also used an underwater Fuji XP50 and a Nikon D600. The first three cameras all broke this year and had to be repaired. Trips this year: three Civil War Trust conferences (Shepherdstown, WV, Richmond, VA, and Williamsburg, VA), a week-long family reunion cruise of the Caribbean, another week-long family reunion in the Wisconsin Dells (with lots of in-transit time in Ohio and Indiana), and my 7th consecutive San Diego Comic-Con trip (including side trips to Zion, Bryce, the Grand Canyon, etc). Ego strokes: I had a picture of Miss DC, Ashley Boalch, published in the Washington Post. I had a photograph of the George Segal San Francisco Holocaust memorial used as the cover of Quebec Francais (issue 165). Not being able to read French, I'm not entirely sure what the article is about but, hey! And I guess what could be considered to be a positive thing, my site is now established enough that spammers have noticed it and I had to block 17,000 file description postings for Viagra and whatever else.. Number of photos taken this year: just below 410,000.
Connection Not Secure messages? Those warnings you get from your browser about this site not having secure connections worry some people. This means this site does not have SSL installed (the link is http:, not https:). That's bad if you're entering credit card numbers, passwords, or other personal information. But this site doesn't collect any personal information so SSL is not necessary. Life's good!
Limiting Text: You can turn off all of this text by clicking this link: [Thumbnails Only]
Photo Contact: [Email Bruce Guthrie].