History from the Homestead

Episode 2 Show Notes.

In the final days of May 1889 an unprecedented weather system settled over the Johnstown, PA area. 6-10 inches of rain fell turning streams into raging torrents. The South fork dam 14 miles up river from Johnstown was rapidly becoming dangerous. The spillway had its flow capacity reduced by fish grates clogged with debris. The dam itself did not have any emergency drain pipes built in. Around 2:50 PM the dam collapsed releasing an estimated 3.8 Billion gallons of water. The wall of water and debris reached the city of Johnstown 57 minutes after the failure of the dam. The official death toll was set at 2,209 people.

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Ruins at Johnstown, Pa., after the flood
. Pennsylvania Johnstown, 1889. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/92509957/.
Langill & Darling, Copyright Claimant. The Flood, Warehouse of Cambria Iron Works
. Pennsylvania Cambria County Johnstown, ca. 1889. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2005676508/.
Rothengatter & Dillon, photographer. The ruins at Johnstown, after the flood/ Rothengatter & Dillon, photo’s, Phila
. Pennsylvania Johnstown, ca. 1899. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/90712948/.
Lee, Alex. Y, and Pennsylvania Railroad. Bird’s-eye view of the Conemaugh Valley from Nineveh to the lake, Johnstown, Pa.: from personal sketches and surveys of the Pennsylvania R.R. by permission
. [Pittsburgh?: A.Y. Lee, 1889] Map. https://www.loc.gov/item/2010588930/.
This bell was carried by the flood waters from Mineral point to Woodvale. A distance of eight miles.
Large scale diorama built onto the wall at the Johnstown flood national memorial.
https://www.loc.gov/pictures/related/?fi=name&q=Histed%2C%20Ernest%20Walter%2C%201862-1947
Debris field at the Stone bridge. With the Cambria iron works in the background.

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