And while there are plenty of reasons for these sorts of horrifying events like war and the murderous nature of mankind one of the main causes of tragedy is nature itself. The Club bought the dam from Reilly in 1879 and created a vacation spot to escape the summer heat and clouds of soot in Pittsburg. The clubs activities were beautifully documented by member Louis Semple Clarke, a talented amateur photographer (as seen in the shot below more of Clarkes work can be seen on the Historic Pittsburgh website, thanks to a collaboration between JAHA and Pitt-Johnstown). Littles case was dismissed almost immediately. What exactly happened at the dam that day? Flooding happened The water had brought an incredible mass of trees, animals, structures, and other stuff to the bridge, leading to a pile of debris estimated to cover about 30 acres and be as high as 70 feet. A 30-foot (9-metre) wall of water smashed into Johnstown at 4:07 pm, killing 2,209 people. The only thing I can compare it to is the heartlessness of Nero, who fiddled while Rome was burning. One of the American Red Crosss first major relief efforts took place in the aftermath of the Johnstown flood. Some people who had survived by floating on top of debris were burned to death in the fire. The operators of the dam tried to warn everyone News of the disaster prompted an incredible outpouring of assistance from neighboring communities. The "Johnstown Flood" was a chaotic result for a small middle class family, natural disasters happen so much in one's lifetime and can be emotionally crippling. The waters were 60 feet tall in places and rushed forwards at 40 mph. Although Whitman loved music and books, he left school at the age of 14 to become a journeyman printer. The people of Johnstown sued the South Fork Hunting & Fishing Club over its negligence in maintaining the dam, and since the club was owned by some of the richest men in America, including Andrew Carnegie, you might assume there was a lavish settlement. Fishing and boating were popular activities, and the club members also enjoyed picnicking by the reservoirs spillway. In The Johnstown Flood, David McCullough gives you all as well as the heart and soul of this heinous catastrophe. FILE - In this 1889 file photograph, people stand atop houses among ruins after disastrous flooding in Johnstown, Pa. Facts, figures and anecdotes about the Johnstown flood in Pennsylvania, which killed 2,209 people 125 years ago, gave the Red Cross its first international response effort and helped set a precedent for American liability law. Locating the bodies was a challenge. The viaduct was completely destroyed in the disaster. Johnstown: Benshoff, 1988. Over the club's ten years in existence, it grew from 16 members to, it is believed, 61 in 1889. It was also well-known by the time of this testimony that removing the discharge pipes was the primary cause of the breach, so Pitcairn would have known to lie about the subject. It did nothing to sway sentiments. New books come out almost yearly about the disaster. anymore. You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter! The small town of Mineral Point, Pennsylvania, was the first populated town hit by the flood and it was totally and completely destroyed. Clara Barton: Professional Angel. By 1943, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers completed the Johnstown Local Flood Protection Program (JLFPP), a series of channel improvements to increase the amount of water the rivers could carry. The temporary dam collapsed, and the water resumed its rush down the floodway. As officials prepare to commemorate the 125th anniversary of the enormous Johnstown Flood of 1889, new research has helped explain why the deluge was so deadly. According to the newspaper in Harrisburg, PA, already several villas owned by members of the club have been broken into fragments. Whatever happened to (someone or something)? Why isn't Gertrude with her dad on the hill in "The Johnstown Flood"? By the time it was finished in 1853, the railroad had already made the canal system obsolete, so the state sold the dam to the Pennsylvania Railroad. Though the club members faced no legal consequences, the Johnstown Flood exposed the corruption of businessmen in the Gilded Age. after last. At approximately 3:00 pm on May 31, 1889, the South Fork Dam gave way, unleashing 20 million tons of water into the valley below. How could future flood disasters be avoided? What might have been worth a fortune 20 years ago may be worth significantly less today. As it is, for the people of Johnstown and the surrounding area, May 31, 1889, remains a memory of loss. 99 whole families aired in first . In 1879, they made repairs and improvements to the dam to bring up the water level. synonyms. In 1936 another severe flood finally produced some action with the passage of the Flood Control Act of 1936. Warnings about the safety of the dam had been ignored. Peres, leader of the Labor Party, became prime minister in 1995 after Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated by a right-wing Jewish extremist. "The water rose and floated us until our heads nearly touched the ceiling. sentences. Frick was wounded in the neck and two stories exist about what happened next: 1.) The State of Pennsylvania built the dam originally to supply water for the Pennsylvania canal. At 3:10 pm on May 31, the South Fork Dam, a poorly maintained earthfill dam holding a major upstream reservoir, collapsed after heavy rains, sending a wall of water rushing down the Conemaugh valley at speeds of 20-40 mph (32-64 kph). Newspapers all across the country denounced the sportsmens lake. Attempting to prove that a particular owner acted negligently was often futile and the members designed the financial structure of the club so that their personal assets were separate from it (PA Inquirer, June 27, 1889). Law, Anwei. 10 This break resulted in a minor flood in Johnstown, where water only rose about two feet and did not cause much damage. Organized in 1879, the purpose of the club was to provide the members and their families an opportunity to get away from the noise, heat and dirt of Pittsburgh. Entertainments included an annual regatta, theatricals and musical performances. Richard Burkert, president of the Johnstown Area Heritage Association, says the research suggests that the dam "was in much poorer shape" than previously known. The reprieve lasted less than ten minutes. The flood was the first major natural disaster in which the American Red Cross played a major role. The report admitted that the club removed the pipes, but maintained that in our opinion they cannot be deemed to be the cause of the late disaster, as we find that the embankment would have been overflowed and the breach formed if the changes had not been made (ASCE Report, 1891) As discussed in the Blurring the Lines section, the club was able to avoid liability by portraying the disaster as an act of God beyond human control. The Johnstown Flood of 1889: The Tragedy of the Conemaugh. The South Fork Dam, located 22 km (14 miles) upstream of the town . On May 31, 1889, the Johnstown Flood killed more than 2,200 people in southwestern Pennsylvania when the long-neglected South Fork Dam suddenly gave way. General Hastings took charge for several months, making sure relief supplies went to survivors who needed them and keeping the press from taking over the town. The AmeriServ Flood City Music Festival has announced its headliners, Los Lobos and Keller Williams Grateful Grass feat. The clubs boat fleet included a pair of steam yachts, many sailboats and canoes, and boathouses to store them in. In simple terms, many saw the Club members as robber barons who had gotten away with murder. However, people usually only turned to lawsuits as a last resort, since it was nearly impossible to win against the industry titans. When it did come out, it favored the club. Anna Fenn Maxwell's husband was washed away by the flood; she was trapped in the family home with seven children as the water rose. There are two Johnstown Flood-related sites in the area. In the morning, Johnstown residents moved furniture and carpets to their second floors away from the rising waters of the Conemaugh and Stoney Creek Rivers. At least three warnings went out from South Fork that day, the last believed to have reached Johnstown at just about 3:00 PM. The railroad lost two cases based on the loss of property. The majority of the public attributed the disaster to the South Fork Fishing Club. Doctors, nurses and Clara Barton and the American Red Cross arrived to provide medical assistance and emergency shelter and supplies. Barton's branch of the American Red Cross is remembered for providing shelter to many survivors in large buildings simply known as "Red Cross Hotels," some of which stood into early 1890. What type of story is "The Johnstown Flood"? The public had grown weary of corruption during the Gilded Age (see Gilded Age Political Cartoon Analysis), so their distrust was understandable. The dam was part of an extensive canal system that became obsolete as the railroads replaced the canal as a means of transporting goods. More than 2,200 people died, making the Johnstown Flood the worst . It's difficult to imagine just how much water slammed into Johnstown that day. Frick and Pitcairn donated $5000, Carnegie $10,000. After years of disuse, John Reilly purchased the dam from the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1875 and operated it for four years. Something inflammable must have been carried along in the debris, because it soon burst into flame, engulfing the bridge in fire. The floating houses and barns caused a tide of debris to back up at a downtown stone bridge, creating a 30-acre pile. Reportedly, one baby survived on the floor of a house as it floated 75 miles from Johnstown. The South Fork Fishing & Hunting Club counted many of Pittsburghs leading industrialists and financiers among its 61 members, including Andrew Carnegie, Henry Clay Frick, Andrew Mellon, and Philander Knox. The Johnstown Train Station is owned by JAHA and is being redeveloped into a community asset. Reilly thought he could sell the land to make a profit, but no buyers wanted to pay his price. The ownership of the dam shifted various times throughout its history, so this was no trivial question. Their pleasure and fishing boats destroyed (Harrisburg, 1889). A: "Whatever happened to fanny packs?" B: "Oh, you'll start seeing them againthey're back in style apparently." Legal Statement. David Beale Published in 1890, this book is widely considered the best memoir of the flood by someone who experienced it. By most accounts, it failed after 3:00 PM, most say either 3:10 or 3:15. No other disaster prior to 1900 was so fully described. 15956, Download the official NPS app before your next visit. He claimed that Reilly was responsible for the removal of the pipes (Coleman 2019). Sadly, the Flood has proved to be a stumbling block for many genealogists. With his father, Eastwood wandered the read more, On May 31, 2005, W. Mark Felts family ends 30 years of speculation, identifying Felt, the former FBI assistant director, as Deep Throat, the secret source who helped unravel the Watergate scandal. the only warning was a thunderous rumble before the water hit. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. Hounded by the media, members of the club donated to the relief effort. Yet, the ASCEs authority allowed them to absolve the club without any evidence that the dam would have flooded regardless of the renovations. People who saw it coming said it looked like a moving, boiling The Johnstown Flood would become one of the worst natural disasters ever seen in this country. YA, Gross, Virginia. On the day of the flood, the town woke up to find water already rising in the streets from the torrential rains, and everyone moved to the upper floors in order to wait it out. The Pennsylvania Railroad had repaired it, but did not build it back up to its original height. One comment published in the Philadelphia Inquirer captures the publics attitude towards the club members. Even though the club members were able to avoid legal consequences, the public indignation regarding these lawsuits helped push the American legal system to shift from a fault-based system to one based on strict liability (Coleman 2019). The South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club wanted to build the lake up to its original height, so they could go boating and fishing. McLaurin, J.J. Winter opening hours have begun for the Johnstown Flood Museum and Heritage Discovery Center/Johnstown Childrens Museum: we are CLOSED Tuesdays and Wednesdays; OPEN Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays from 10:00 am-5:00 pm; and OPEN Sundays from noon-5:00 pm. (AP Photo) (The Associated Press), This photo from May 31, 1889, released by the Johnstown Flood Museum shows the destruction along Main Street in Johnstown, Pa., following the collapse of the South Fork Dam that killed 2,209 people. Lists. The Story of Johnstown. The waters hadn't even receded yet when hundreds of journalists arrived to document the disaster for the world. Though 80 lives were lost in the 1977 flood, it was far less than it would have been if the waters had risen another 11 feet. By the end of 1889 there were more than a dozen, mostly histories but a few novels as well. The Historic Flood of May 31, 1889 First let's look at circumstantial evidence on the 1889 flood (2,209 killed, $17m damage). The South Fork Fishing Club comprised primarily of wealthy industrialists, including Andrew Carnegie, Henry Frick, and Andrew Mellon (Coleman 2019). It was too little, too late. There were two primary conjectures about who was to blame: former Congressman John Reilly and the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club. Beach Haven, NJ: The Attic, 1972. this flooding would be much worse than other times. Libby Hipp was carrying Gertrude and her and Aunt Abbie tuned back to go to the house. After Johnstown was destroyed, it was found that 1,600 homes had been destroyed, 2, 209 people lost their lives, and there was over $17,000,000 in property damage. As authorDavid McCulloughwrites, Mineral Point was home to about 30 families who lived in neat houses lining the town's only street, Front Street. In 1889, they were just a year away from a census, the last being done in 1880. This section of our website has more about the station's history, present and future. Wasn't Clara Barton involved somehow? People could save themselves by running for their second floors. 2023 A&E Television Networks, LLC. It had already failed once in 1862. or redistributed. Hydraulic experts and engineers flocked to Johnstown to analyze the situation. The work to find survivors and rebuild began almost immediately after the waters subsided. It's a lesson the hard-working people living in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, learned more than a century ago, when the South Fork Dam burst during a heavy rainstorm, flooding the area and unleashing an incredible wave of destruction that remains one of the deadliest events in American history. In fact, asABC Newsreports, it's suspected that some of the modifications the club made to the dam contributed to its failure. By June 5th, the newly organized Red Cross, led by Clara Barton, arrived in Johnstown. Strict liability maintains that a person can be held legally accountable for consequences that result from their actions, even in the absence of fault or criminal intent. fairly often in southwestern Pennsylvania, so most people didn't think They had set the club up as a limited liability company, which meant they couldn't be held personally accountable and that their vast personal fortunes were never in danger. The Red Cross also provided warm meals, provisions for daily needs, and medical care. A Photographic Story of the Johnstown Flood of 1889. Clara Barton, Founder, American Red Cross. The death toll of the Johnstown Flood was worse because the town was already flooded. When the water subsided, there was literally no sign that a town had ever existed. It was dark and the house was tossing every way. However, the telegraph lines were down and the warning did not reach Johnstown. There was no adequate outlet for excess water, for example, and the club had installed screens over the drainage pipes to stop the fish from escaping. Legal Statement. Testimonies from the dam construction workers reveal that they removed the discharge pipes during this period of limbo. A strong surface low pressure of around 1000 mb is centered over Kentucky at this hour and heavy rain is falling . Designed to protect Johnstown from ever experiencing floods of the level of 1889 and 1936, the JLFPP protected the city from further major flooding until 1977. Crete is now Axis-occupied territory. . That all combined to make finding the bodies of victims a real challenge. Books were for sale literally within days of the disaster. Immediately, the flood became the news event of the decade. Their quiet retreat from the city life was just a train ride away from Pittsburgh. Harrisburg: James M. Place, 1890. At the end of the day, per History, 2,209 people were killed, many swept away by the sheer force of the water and that includes 99 entire families and nearly 400 children. Barton would leave Johnstown a hero. However, there was not enough substantial evidence to hold the club legally responsible. is an American sitcom television series that aired on ABC from August 5, 1976, until April 28, 1979, premiering as a summer series. For most, The matter of who was to blame was not very contentious. The fire continued to burn for three days. On the day of the flood, the dam's operators knew they were in trouble early on. Below the bridge the floodwaters reached the first floor, but it did not have the force of all that debris trapped in the jam. The club never reinstalled the drainage pipes so that the reservoir could be drained. Shappee, Nathan D. A History of Johnstown and the Great Flood of 1889: A Study of Disaster and Rehabilitation. Many people drowned. New York: Random House, 1993. Market data provided by Factset. The Johnstown Flood was the first major disaster served by the recently formed Red Cross. As theJohnstown Area Historical Associationnotes, the dead were found hundreds of miles away and continued to be found for decades after the flood. (AP Photo/File) (The Associated Press), In this historical photo from May 31, 1889, survivors stand by homes destroyed when the South Fork Dam collapsed in Johnstown, Pa. As officials prepare to commemorate the 125th anniversary of the enormous Johnstown Flood of 1889 that killed 2,209 people, new research has helped explain why the deluge was so deadly. (AP Photo/Johnstown Flood Museum). Five days after the flood, the American Society of Civil Engineers, or the ASCE, met to form an official record of the event. This flood. But as Owlcation notes, by3:00 PM, the water still hadn't subsided, and the residents of Johnstown were becoming annoyed but they were used to floods. The Johnstown Flood is considered the first major civilian disaster relief effort for the American Red Cross, which was less than ten years old in 1889. Who built the dam? NEW! However, no club member ever expressed a sense of personal responsibility for the disaster. Workers toiled for the most part of the day, first trying to raise the height of the dam, then digging spillways and removing screens that kept fish in the lake from escaping. The Soviet Union, which in 1928 had only 20,000 cars and a single truck factory, was eager to join the ranks of read more. people had already moved their belongings to the second floors of their Perhaps they have been so busy lamenting over the loss of their big fish pond that they have really not had time to think much of the destruction down the valley (PA Inquirer, June 13, 1889). McCullough, David G. The Johnstown Flood. She was a mother of eight and sought compensation for the loss of her 43-year-old husband. Strayer, Harold. This debris caught against the viaduct, forming an ersatz dam that held the water back temporarily. The Pennsylvania Railroad was closely tied to the other industries in Johnstown and many club members worked for the railroad. It had been raining heavily in the two days before the flood. Then the pile, which was 40 feet high and 30 acres across, caught fire! Regardless if they were to blame or not, the public resented that the club members provided little relief relative to their respective wealth. Many businessmen seemed more concerned with repairing their damaged property rather than aiding Johnstown. Clara Barton, after confirming the news, brought a team with her from near Washington D.C. and arrived on Wednesday, June 5, 1889. In its path, were Johnstown and the surrounding communities. A dam was built in 1840 on the Little Conemaugh River, 14 miles upstream from Johnstown. let up just long enough for Johnstown to have its Memorial Day parade, Maxwell survived, but all of her children drowned. Later investigations like the 2014 computer simulation refuted this claim. The National Park Service and the local Heritage Association are holding a number of free events Saturday and Sunday to mark the 125th anniversary: http://1.usa.gov/1tirLQd, Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox. was loosely based on the Eric Monte-penned film Cooley High. Songs told the stories of real and imagined heroes. As coverage of the horror of the event began to recede, the media began to look at the causes of the disaster. He wrote, What is the fishing club doing? In these pre-Social Security days, personnel records for firms like Cambria Iron or the Pennsylvania Railroad are not as sophisticated as they are today. A few of the club members, most notably Robert Pitcairn, served on relief committees. "use strict";(function(){var insertion=document.getElementById("citation-access-date");var date=new Date().toLocaleDateString(undefined,{month:"long",day:"numeric",year:"numeric"});insertion.parentElement.replaceChild(document.createTextNode(date),insertion)})(); FACT CHECK: We strive for accuracy and fairness. No further evidence beyond a few other unreliable testimonies corroborated the supposition that Reilly gave the instructions to remove the pipes. Netanyahu, who promised read more, Near Tel Aviv, Israel, Adolf Eichmann, the Nazi SS officer who organized Adolf Hitlers final solution of the Jewish question, was executed for his crimes against humanity. best swimmers couldn't swim in that mess. Even in 1889, many called the old dam and water the "Old Reservoir," as is had been built many decades before. Nine hundred feet by 72 feet, it was the largest earth dam (made of dirt and rock, rather than steel and concrete) in the United States and it created the largest man-made lake of the time, Lake Conemaugh. Despite a large number of court cases filed against the South Fork Fishing Club, no individuals were able to recover damages from the dams owners. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Wilkes-Barre, 1936. The flood hit Johnstown 57 minutes after its original breach of the dam. As it was, many of the town's residents were trapped in the upper floors of their homes when the deadly wave hit. The club had very few assets aside from the clubhouse, but a few lawsuits were brought against the club anyway. LISTEN ON APPLE PODCASTS: The Gilded Age Apocalypse. The Johnstown Flood resulted in the first expression of outrage at power of the great trusts and giant corporations that had formed in the post-Civil War period. The Red Cross' efforts were covered heavily in the media of the time, instantly elevating the organization to iconic status in the United States. Johnstown is located around seventy miles east of Pittsburgh in a . Wasn't Clara Barton involved somehow? People tried to flee to high ground but most were caught in the fast water, a lot were crushed by debris. It took them seven months to finish the report and they did not publish it until 1891. Viewed one way, history is a series of tragedies. 286 other terms for what happened - words and phrases with similar meaning. Cambria County Transit Authority. In 1879 he ended up selling the land to the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club at a loss. It also suggests that the dam had been designed with two spillways to handle periods of heavy rain, but only one was in use. Make sure youre always up-to-date by subscribing to our online newsletter. Since discharge pipes regulate the water level of the lake behind a dam, some experts speculated that the South Fork Dam would not have succumbed to the heavy rainfall if these pipes were installed. He was such a nice guy. As a result, it flooded at least once or twice every year. The result, as reported byThe Seattle Times, was around 750 bodies that were never identified. Doctors worried especially about diseases that might breed in the unclean water and decaying bodies of humans and animals. Most Internet records concentrate on the aftermath and don't give. Floods have been a frequent occurrence in Johnstown as long as history has been recorded there, floods have been part of those records. The only time the rivers have flooded the downtown since then was in July 1977, when 11 inches of rain fell over two days, causing six dams to fail. Although suits were filed against the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club, no legal actions or compensation resulted. It swept whole towns away as Not much is known about Benjamin Ruff's life. Bodies filled morgues in Johnstown and river towns downstream until relatives came to identify them. The fear of big floods remains. People in the path of the rushing flood waters were often crushed as their homes and other structures were swept away. When the fire broke out, these poor people were not able to escape. It's accepted that the flood struck Johnstown proper at 4:07 PM. In the end, no lawsuit against the club was successful. Scholars suggest the if the flood happened today, the club would have almost certainly been held responsible (Coleman 2019). It had been raining heavily in the two days before the flood. Andrew Carnegie was a member of the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club, the group . From 1985 until 1988, a sequel series titled What's Happening Now!! Some people moved away from Johnstown, but a surprising number never even considered that option. The three remembered most happened on May 31, 1889, when at least 2,209 people died, the St. Patrick's Day flood of 1936, in which almost two dozen people died, and a third devastating flood on July 19-20, 1977, when at least 85 people died. Head for the Hills! No announcement has yet been observed of the millionaires who constitute the South Fork Fishing Club doing anything remarkable toward bearing the expense of caring for the sufferers and clearing away the debris at Johnstown. This new standard prevented negligent businessmen from escaping liability in future lawsuits. On the morning of May 20, some 3,000 members of Germanys Division landed on Crete, which was patrolled read more, On May 30, 1988, three U.S. presidents in three different years take significant steps toward ending the Cold War. Wasn't there an old book on the Flood? The club renamed the reservoir, calling it Lake Conemaugh. Some people survived by clinging to the tops of barns and homes. And you'd be right. Behind the numbers and stats, and even the human tragedy, there is an evil lurking here. The reservoir would service the Western Division of the Pennsylvania Main Line Canal in times of low water. What makes the tragic story of the Johnstown Flood so haunting isn't just the scale of the damage and the loss of life more than 2,200 people ultimately died it's the chain of events leading up to it. Market data provided by Factset. They were buried together in a new cemetery built high above the town. Hindsight always makes things seem very clear and obvious, but at several points as the tragedy unfolded, different decisions or a simple change of luck might have averted the worst. Johnstown, Pennsylvania flood At 4:07 p.m., Johnstown inhabitants heard a low rumble that grew to a "roar like thunder." Some knew immediately what had happened: after a night of heavy rains, South Fork Dam had finally broken, sending 20 million tons of water crashing down the narrow valley.
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