The Johnstown Flood (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 (4.8 billion U.S. gallons; 18.2 million cubic meters; 18.2 billion litres). The flood killed over 2,200 people and caused 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. After the flood, victims suffered a series of legal defeats in their attempt to recover damages from the dam's owners. Public indignation at that failure prompted a major development in American law—state courts' move from a fault-based regime to strict liability.
History
Founded in 1800 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 runoff from rain and snowfall. The area surrounding Johnstown is prone to flooding due to its position at the confluence of the Stony Creek and Little Conemaugh River, forming the Conemaugh River, whose upstream watersheds include an extensive drainage basin of the Allegheny plateau. Adding to these factors, artificial narrowing of the riverbed for the purposes of early industrial development made the city even more flood-prone. The Conemaugh River immediately downstream of Johnstown is hemmed in by steep mountainsides for approximately ten miles. Today, a plaque at the scenic overlook on Pennsylvania Route 56 about four miles outside of Johnstown cites this gorge as the deepest river gap in the entire United States east of the Rocky Mountains.
South Fork Dam and Lake Conemaugh
High above the city, 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 a canal system to be used as a reservoir for a canal basin in Johnstown. With the coming-of-age of railroads superseding canal barge transport, the lake was abandoned by the Commonwealth, sold to the Pennsylvania Railroad, and sold again to private interests.
Henry Clay Frick led a group of speculators including Benjamin Ruff to purchase the abandoned reservoir, modify it, and convert it into a private resort lake for the wealthy of Pittsburgh, many of whom were closely associated with Carnegie Steel. The changes included lowering the dam to make its top wide enough to hold a road, and putting a fish screen in the spillway (that also trapped debris). These alterations are thought to have increased the vulnerability of the dam. They built cottages and a clubhouse to create the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club, an exclusive and secretive mountain retreat. Membership grew to include over 50 wealthy Pittsburgh steel, coal, and railroad industrialists.
Lake Conemaugh at the club's site was 450 feet (140 m) in elevation above Johnstown. The lake was about 2 miles (3.2 km) long, approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) wide, and 60 feet (18 m) deep near the dam. The lake had a perimeter of 7 miles (11 km) to hold 20 million tons of water. When the water was at its highest point in the spring, the lake covered over 400 acres (160 ha).
The dam was 72 feet (22 m) high and 931 feet (284 m) long. Between 1881 when the club was opened, and 1889, the dam frequently sprang leaks and was patched, mostly with mud and straw. Additionally, a previous owner removed and sold for scrap the 3 cast iron discharge pipes that previously allowed a controlled release of water. There had been some speculation as to the dam's integrity, and concerns had been raised by the head of the Cambria Iron Works downstream in Johnstown. Carnegie Steel's chief competitor, the Cambria Iron and Steel Company, at that time boasted the world's largest annual steel production. However, no major corrective action was taken, and the flawed dam held the waters of Lake Conemaugh back until the disaster of May 31, 1889.
The Great Flood of 1889
On May 28, 1889, a storm formed over Nebraska and Kansas, moving east. When the storm struck the Johnstown-South Fork area two days later it was the worst downpour that had ever been recorded in that part of the country. The U.S. Army Signal Corps estimated that 6 to 10 inches (150 to 250 mm) of rain fell in 24 hours over the entire region. During the night small creeks became roaring torrents, ripping out trees and debris. Telegraph lines were downed and rail lines were washed away. Before daybreak the Conemaugh River that ran through Johnstown was about to burst its banks.
On the morning of May 31, 1889, in a farmhouse on a hill just above the South Fork Dam located about 14 miles (23 km) upstream, Elias Unger, the president of the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club at the time, awoke to the sight of Lake Conemaugh swollen after a night-long heavy rainfall. Unger ran outside in the still-pouring rain to assess the situation and saw that the water was nearly cresting the dam. Unger quickly assembled a group of men to try to save the face of the dam by trying to unclog the spillway which was blocked by the broken fish trap and debris caused by the swollen waterline. Other men tried digging another spillway at the other end of the dam to relieve the pressure but without success. Most remained on top of the dam, some plowing earth to raise it, while others tried to pile mud and rock on the face to save the eroding wall.
John Parke, an engineer for the South Fork Club, briefly considered cutting through the dam's end, where the pressure would be less, but decided against it. Twice, under orders from Unger, Parke rode on horseback to the nearby town of South Fork to the telegraph office to send warnings to Johnstown explaining the critical nature of the eroding dam. But the warnings were not passed onto the authorities in town since there had been many false alarms in the past of the South Fork Dam not holding against flooding, but which it did. Unger, Parke, and the rest of the men continued working to save the face of the dam until they were exhausted in which they abandoned their efforts at around 1:30 PM when they felt that their work was futile and the dam would collapse at any minute. Unger ordered all of his men to fall back to high ground on both sides of the dam where they could do nothing but wait.
During the day in Johnstown, the situation worsened as water rose to as much as 10 feet (3.0 m) in the streets of Johnstown. Then at around 3:10 PM (15:10), the South Fork Dam burst, allowing the 20 million tons of Lake Conemaugh to cascade down the Little Conemaugh River. It took about 40 minutes for the entire lake to drain of the water. The first town to be hit by the flood was the small town of South Fork. Fortunately, the town was on high ground and most of the people ran farther up the nearby hills when they saw the dam literally spill over. Despite 20 to 30 houses being destroyed or washed away, only four people were killed.
On its way downstream towards Johnstown, the crest picked up debris, such as trees, houses, and animals. At the Conemaugh Viaduct, a 78-foot (24 m) high railroad bridge, the flood temporarily was stopped when debris jammed against the stone bridge's arch. But after around seven minutes, the viaduct collapsed, allowing the flood to resume its course. Because of this, the force of the surge gained renewed impetus, resulting in a stronger force hitting Johnstown than otherwise would have been expected. The small town of Mineral Point, one mile (1.6 km) below the Conemaugh Viaduct, was hit with this renewed force. About 30 families lived on the village's single street. After the flood, only bare rock remained. About 16 people were killed.
The village of East Conemaugh was next to be hit by the flood. One witness on high ground near the town described the water as almost obscured by debris, resembling "a huge hill rolling over and over". Train engineer John Hess, sitting in his locomotive engine, heard the rumbling of the flood and, correctly assuming what it was, tried to warn people by tying down the train whistle and racing toward the town by riding backwards to warn the residents ahead of the wave. His warning saved many people who were able to get to high ground. But at least 50 people died, including about 25 passengers stranded on trains in the town. Hess himself miraculously survived despite the flood picking up his locomotive and tossing it aside.
Just before hitting the main part of the city, the flood surge hit the Cambria Iron Works at the town of Woodvale, taking with it railroad cars and barbed wire. Of Woodvale's 1,100 residents, 314 died in the flood. Boilers exploded when the flood hit the Gauliter Wire Works, causing black smoke seen by the Johnstown residents.
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