Pennsylvania's Tsunami - The Johnstown, Pa Horror

"One day that dam is gonna break!" 

That was probably a popular phrase in late 1800s Johnstown, and the dam in question was the South Fork Dam.  Built by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania between 1838 and 1853 to provide water to the Western Division Canal, the earthen dam contained a body of water 2 miles long, one mile wide, and 60 feet deep.  The reservoir, known as Lake Conemaugh, was precariously perched in the mountains above the populated valley below.

As canals gave way to more efficient methods of transportation, they were frequently bought by the railroads.  Railroad lines were then laid right alongside the canals, so that factories and warehouses that once depended on barges could then be supplied by locomotives.  The Western Division Canal was no exception to this custom, and was purchased by the Pennsylvania Railroad Co., along with South Fork Dam and Lake Conemaugh.

The lake was of no use to a railroad company, however, and was soon sold to private parties, then sold again.  Eventually the lake and dam were converted into a private retreat for members of the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club, many of whom were officers of the Pittsburgh Steel, and among the wealthiest individuals in the country at the time.

Cabins, eateries, and gathering halls were built for the members, but little attention was paid to the aging dam, except to lower it by several feet so that a road could be built atop it to provide convenient access to the lake's opposite shore.

The worst place to be in a flood.

Johnstown was the largest of a handful of communities located deep in the Conemaugh River Gorge, the deepest river gap in the entire United States east of the Rocky Mountains, and 450 feet in elevation below Lake Conemaugh.  It had occurred to the residents of this town of 30,000, many of whom were Welsh and German immigrants, that escaping floodwater in the event of a dam failure would be difficult because of the steep mountains that hemmed in the city on nearly every side.  However, nobody could imagine the magnitude of the disaster that was about to happen in spring of 1889.

On May 30th, 1889 it began to rain harder than it ever had before.  The US Army Signal Corps estimated that 6 to 10 inches of rain fell in just a 24 hour period, breaking all records for that area of the country.  Small creeks in Johnstown became raging rivers, trees were uprooted, and telegraph lines were downed.  The people of Johnstown awoke on May 31st, 1889 to find their town already flooded in areas, but their problems were about to get much worse.

Panic at the South Fork Dam

Elias Unger, president of South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club, was concerned by the unrelenting deluge of rain continuing into its second day, and left his cabin in the early hours of the morning to examine the dam.  He quickly discovered that the lake had risen to nearly the top of the dam, and that the spillway that should have allowed water to escape was now completely clogged by debris caught in a metal screening installed to keep the club's fish from swimming downstream.  A team of men was quickly assembled to remedy the situation, and the group returned to the dam with whatever tools they could carry.

Some of the men attempted to remove the broken fish trap apparatus from the spillway, while another group worked to dig a second spillway to relieve pressure.  A third group frantically piled mud and rocks against the 

face of the dam, in an effort to reinforce it.

There was no warning.

Twice that day Elias Unger ordered one of his men to saddle up his horse and ride from the dam to the nearby city of South Fork, and to send a telegraph from there to the city of Johnstown below, warning them of the grave situation upstream.  Despite the pouring rain, Unger's orders were carried out both times, but the message was never received in Johnstown.  Maybe it was because of downed telegraph lines, or maybe someone ignored the messages, thinking they were just more of the frequent false alarms that were issued concerning that dam.  Either way, no alarm was ever issued in Johnstown, and the townspeople had no warning of what was to come their way that day.

The dam broke.

At 3:10 pm, May 31st, 1889 the South Fork Dam gave way, unleashing 20 million tons (40,000,000,000 lbs!) of water in to the populated valley below.  Water flowed in a gushing torrent for a full 40 minutes before the lake was drained.

The first town struck by the flood was the small community of South Fork, Pa.  Fortunately, South Fork was on relatively high ground, and the townspeople were able to escape on foot when they saw the dam spill over.  While over 20 homes were destroyed, only 4 residents of South Fork perished.

As the immense volume of water passed through the town, it picked up anything in its path.  Trees, homes, horse carts, and livestock were all swept along with the water.  It was this collection of debris that formed a giant plug as the water passed under the Conemaugh Viaduct, a 78 foot tall stone railroad bridge crossing the river valley.  The clog formed by the wreckage held back the water for nearly 10 minutes before the bridge collapsed and the mountain of water was set free again, now roaring down the valley with a renewed ferocity.

One and a half minutes later the village of Mineral Point was washed away by rage of water.  All thirty homes were completely destroyed and 16 lives were lost.  Reports from the time state that nothing was left of Mineral Point except for one bare rock.

One Man's Heroic Race Against Death

Train engineer John Hess was sitting in his locomotive just outside of the next village to be hit, East Conemaugh, when he heard an unnatural rumble over the sound of his own steam engine.  Assuming correctly, that the noise was a torrent of water from South Fork Dam, he threw his train in reverse and accelerated.  He held his train whistle wide open while passing backward through East Conemaugh, draining precious steam needed for his own escape, but providing an unmistakable alarm of impending danger to the villagers.

Thanks to Mr. Hess's heroic efforts, many residents of East Conemaugh were able to reach higher ground and be spared.  Alas, 50 souls still perished in the village, with at least 25 of the deaths being from a passenger train stopped in the station when the wave hit.  John Hess's own locomotive was unable to escape the waters that outpaced it, and the entire iron train was tossed aside like a child's toy.  Miraculously, Hess survived.

The Wall of Water Picks Up Barbed Wire

The flood continued on to the town of Woodvale, where it killed 314 people, 1/3 of the town's population. It was here that the waters picked up large spools of barbed wire from the Cambria Iron Works, and carried them to the city of Johnstown, where they would be unraveled upon the population.

Nearly a full hour after the collapse of South Fork Dam a wall of water 60 feet tall and moving at 40 miles per hour carried into Johnstown homes, horses, trees, locomotives and the corpses of hundreds of victims.  Townspeople tried desperately to run for high ground, but steep hills on either side of the city made escape difficult.  Many residents of Johnstown were crushed by the enormous debris, while other became hopelessly entangled in barbed wire and drowned.  The waters swept through, taking a considerable portion of Johnstown with it until it reached Stone Bridge.  

Stone Bridge was an immense structure built by the Pennsylvania Railroad at the confluence of the Conemaugh River and Stoney Creek River.  It was at this bridge that the ruins of Johnstown, Woodvale, East Conemaugh, Mineral Point, and South Fork, all tied up in barbed wire with survivors still inside, formed an impermeable barrier to the waters.

Unable to travel further downstream, the flood left the path of the Conemaugh River and traveled instead against the current of the Stoney Creek River.  After a short time, the combined waters of the flood and the Stoney Creek River formed a second wave, which swept through town from an entirely different direction.  Cruelly, those who escaped the first wave were caught up in the second and swept away to their death.

Fire Breaks Out at Stone Bridge

With several towns, villages, and the city of Johnstown laying in complete ruins from flood, a fire broke out.  The debris and wreckage of buildings piled against Stone Bridge broke out in flames that burned for three days, making rescue difficult for those still trapped inside.  An additional 80 souls were lost to fire.

Rescue and Relief Efforts

Rescue and relief efforts began immediately after the waves stopped.  Railroad crews worked feverishly around the clock to repair tracks so supplies could be brought in, while citizens from nearby communities and authorities alike combed the ruins looking for survivors.  Railroad service was re-established on June 2nd, 1889.

Coffins and Undertakers

One of the first calls for assistance from what remained of Johnstown was a request for as many coffins and undertakers to be sent to the area as was possible.  Indeed, one train arrived that was 10 cars long.  One was a passenger car containing 30 morticians, while the other 9 were cargo cars loaded with coffins.

2,209 bodies were found, including 99 whole families and 396 children.  

Makeshift morgues were set up in Johnstown and surrounding areas, with bodies kept out until they could be identified by family members.  1 in 3 bodies were never identified, and 777 victims were eventually laid to rest in "The Plot of the Unknown" at Grandview Cemetery in Westmont.

Lawlessness and Looting

While many people poured into the area with the best intentions of helping, a few people took the opportunity to help themselves other people's property from the wreckage.  Workers removing severely disfigured bodies from the mud and ruins spread rumors of finding bodies from which fingers had been cut off by thieves stealing rings and jewelry.  Patience with the criminal element in the wake of such a calamity was at a low, and sensational news of such ghoulish activity fanned a rage against looters.  Authorities and armed citizens are reputed to have driven suspected looters at gunpoint into the waters, forging them to swim for their lives or be shot.

The American Red Cross's First Relief Effort

On May 5th, 1889 Clara Barton, head of the American Red Cross, arrived to direct the organization's first major relief effort.  She would work 7 days a week for the next 5 months.  Supply lines were set up to distribute aid donated from all across the United States, and from 18 foreign countries.  Cities of tents were erected, featuring housing, dining halls, hospitals, and clinics under fabric roofs.  The success of the relief effort cemented the young organization as a permanent fixture in America, and made its leader a much-admired hero.

Public Opinion & Legal Repercussions

The owners and membership of South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club were among the wealthiest families in America, yet they contributed very little to the relief efforts.  Of the nearly 4 million dollars collected (95 million in today's dollars) only one hundred thousand came from South fork members.  Individual contributions from the members were seen as being painfully tiny when compared to their highly visible wealth.

Lawsuits brought against the club and its directors and membership all failed.  At the time the courts in the United States adhered to a fault-based regime, under which nobody could be held accountable for what the defendants' attorneys cited as an act of God.  The public and press were furious, and the court system switched to a new philosophy of "strict liability" as a result of the public outrage.  Additionally, states around the country adopted a British common law precedent from Rylands v. Fletcher, which held that a non-negligent defendant could be held liable for damage caused by the unnatural use of land.  

Johnstown Today

The city of Johnstown still exists today in Cambria County, with a population of nearly 24,000.  Stone bridge, which finally stopped the flood from progressing to towns downstream, and the site of the horrific fire, still stands.  The National Park Service maintains a memorial park on the former site of lake Conemaugh, upstream from Johnstown, and an "eternal flame" burns in memory of the victims in Johnstown at the confluence of Stoney Creek and Conemaugh  Rivers.