The South Fork Dam was an earthenwork dam forming Lake Conemaugh (formerly Western Reservoir, also known as the Old Reservoir and Three Mile Dam, a misnomer), [1] an artificial body of water near South Fork, Pennsylvania, United States. On May 31, 1889, the South Fork Dam failed catastrophically and 20 million tons of water from Lake Conemaugh burst through and raced 14 miles (23 km) downstream, causing the Johnstown Flood. [2]
The South Fork Dam was originally built between 1838–1853 by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as part of the canal system to be used as a reservoir for the state's Main Line of Public Works canal basin in Johnstown. It was abandoned by the Commonwealth, sold to the Pennsylvania Railroad, and sold again to private interests.
The dam was 72 feet (22 m) high and 931 feet (284 m) long. Between 1881 when the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club was opened, and 1889, the dam frequently sprung leaks. It was patched, mostly with mud and straw.[ citation needed ] Additionally, a previous owner had removed and sold for scrap the five cast iron discharge pipes that previously allowed a controlled release of water. [3] 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.[ citation needed ]
Before the flood, speculators had bought the abandoned reservoir, made less than well-engineered repairs to the old dam, raised the lake level, built cottages and a clubhouse, and created the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club. Members of this exclusive and secretive retreat in the mountains were 61 wealthy Pittsburgh steel and coal financiers and industrialists, including Andrew Carnegie, Andrew Mellon, Philander Knox, John George Alexander Leishman, and Henry Clay Frick. Daniel Johnson Morrell, of the Cambria Iron Works of Johnstown, also became a member, ostensibly to monitor the condition of the dam.
On May 31, 1889, after several days of unprecedented rainfall, the dam gave way. [2] A torrent of water raced downstream, destroying several towns. When it reached Johnstown, 2,208 people were killed, and there was $17 million in damage.
This was the first major disaster relief effort handled by the new American Red Cross, led by Clara Barton. 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. The Johnstown Flood became a symbol of the power and potential destructive force of the elements.
Part of the St. Michael neighborhood, and most of Creslo, of the town St. Michael-Sidman, Pennsylvania now sits on the bed of the former Lake Conemaugh.
Johnstown is the largest city in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 18,411 as of the 2020 census. Located 57 miles (92 km) east of Pittsburgh, it is the principal city of the Johnstown metropolitan area, which is located in Cambria County and had 133,472 residents in 2020. It is also part of the Johnstown–Somerset combined statistical area, which includes both Cambria and Somerset Counties.
Henry Clay Frick was an American industrialist, financier, and art patron. He founded the H. C. Frick & Company coke manufacturing company, was chairman of the Carnegie Steel Company and played a major role in the formation of the giant U.S. Steel manufacturing concern. He had extensive real estate holdings in Pittsburgh and throughout the state of Pennsylvania. He later built the historic Neoclassical Frick Mansion, and upon his death donated his extensive collection of old master paintings and fine furniture to create the celebrated Frick Collection and art museum. However, as a founding member of the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club, he was also in large part responsible for the alterations to the South Fork Dam that caused its failure, leading to the catastrophic Johnstown Flood. His vehement opposition to unions also caused violent conflict, most notably in the Homestead Strike.
The Johnstown Flood, sometimes referred to locally as Great Flood of 1889, occurred on Friday, May 31, 1889, after the catastrophic failure of the South Fork Dam, located on the south fork of the Little Conemaugh River, 14 miles (23 km) upstream of the town of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, United States. The dam ruptured after several days of extremely heavy rainfall, releasing 14.55 million cubic meters of water. With a volumetric flow rate that temporarily equaled the average flow rate of the Mississippi River, the flood killed 2,208 people and accounted for US$17,000,000 in damage.
The Johnstown Flood National Memorial is a unit of the United States National Park Service. Established in 1964 through legislation signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson, it pays tribute to the thousands of victims of the Johnstown Flood, who were injured or killed on May 31, 1889 when the South Fork Dam ruptured.
The Conemaugh River is a 70-mile (110 km) long tributary of the Kiskiminetas River in Westmoreland, Indiana, and Cambria counties in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The name means 'Otter Creek', originating from the Unami-Lenape language word kwənəmuxkw 'otter'.
The Little Conemaugh River is a tributary of the Conemaugh River, approximately 30 miles (48 km) long, in western Pennsylvania in the United States.
The Johnstown Inclined Plane is a 896.5-foot (273.3 m) funicular in Johnstown, Cambria County, in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The incline and its two stations connect the city of Johnstown, situated in a valley at the confluence of the Stonycreek and the Little Conemaugh rivers, to the borough of Westmont on Yoder Hill. The Johnstown Inclined Plane is billed as the "world's steepest vehicular inclined plane". It can carry automobiles and passengers, up or down a slope with a grade of 71.9%. The travel time between stations is 90 seconds.
The Quemahoning Reservoir, also known to locals as The Dam, is created by the Quemahoning Dam, located on Quemahoning Creek on the border of Quemahoning Township, Conemaugh Township, and Jenner Township in Somerset County, Pennsylvania just south of Hollsopple.
Livermore, Pennsylvania is an abandoned town that was located on the Conemaugh River between Blairsville and Saltsburg in Derry Township, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. The town was abandoned and partially razed in the early 1950s following authorization by the Flood Control Act of 1936 and Flood Control Act of 1938 for construction of the Conemaugh Dam and Lake to prevent flooding of Pittsburgh. Much of the former town site now lies under the reservoir and floodplains.
The Main Line of Public Works was a package of legislation passed by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1826 to establish a means of transporting freight between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. It funded the construction of various long-proposed canal and road projects, mostly in southern Pennsylvania, that became a canal system and later added railroads. Built between 1826 and 1834, it established the Pennsylvania Canal System and the Allegheny Portage Railroad.
The South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club was a Pennsylvania corporation that operated an exclusive and secretive retreat at a mountain lake near South Fork, Pennsylvania, for more than 50 extremely wealthy men and their families.
The Cambria Iron Company of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, was a major producer of iron and steel that operated independently from 1852 to 1916. The company adopted many innovations in the steelmaking process, including those of William Kelly and Henry Bessemer.
Daniel Johnson Morrell was a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania.
Floods in the United States before 1900 is a list of flood events that were of significant impact to the country, before 1900. Floods are generally caused by excessive rainfall, excessive snowmelt, and dam failure.
The Laurel Run Dam, also known as Laurel Run Dam No. 2, was an earthen embankment dam that failed during the Johnstown Flood of 1977. It had the largest reservoir of seven dams to fail between July 19 and 20, 1977 and caused the most fatalities of the two that did. The dam failed in the early morning of July 20 after period of heavy rain, causing 101 million US gallons (380,000 m3) of water to flood downstream Tanneryville, killing 40 people.
The Inclined Plane Bridge is a 237-foot (72 m), Pennsylvania through truss bridge that spans Stonycreek River in Johnstown, Cambria County, in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It connects the city to the lower station of the Johnstown Inclined Plane. The bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988 and was documented by the Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) in 1997.
Mineral Point is an unincorporated community in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, United States.
The Johnstown flood of 1977 was a major flood which began on the night of July 19, 1977, when heavy rainfall caused widespread flash flooding in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, United States, including the city of Johnstown and the Conemaugh Valley.
The Pennsylvania State Game Lands Number 26 are Pennsylvania State Game Lands in Bedford, Blair, Cambria, and Somerset Counties in Pennsylvania in the United States providing hunting, bird watching, equestrian, snowmobiling, and other activities.