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Camping Get Those Tents Up !
CAMPING... Get Those Tents Up!
Have you ever thought you might like to try a totally different Vacation? Is the cost of your Vacation this year a problem? Did you know that a week long Camping Vacation for a family of four can work out to...
Canada Quebec - A Lifetime Experience To Treasure Forever
After Ontario, Quebec is the second most populated and popular province in Canada with a total population of 7568640. Most of the inhabitants of Quebec have accepted French as their official language. It is however quite surprising that Quebec is...
Rehoboth Beach For A Vacation Of Fun In The Sun
With summer just around the corner, how are you doing with
your vacation plans? Have you ever considered visiting the
Delaware Beaches? Beside being known as the "First State",
the Rehoboth Beach area in Delaware has also been referred ...
The Benefits of Lake Tahoe Cabin Rentals
Lake Tahoe cabin complexes rangein size from small, six-unit, luxury rentals in the woods, to larger cabins with common pools and private beaches. There is something here for everyone.
Some folks come to the lake with half a dozen fishing,...
The Historic And Natural Wonder Of Cades Cove Tennessee
If you miss Cades Cove Tennessee while traveling in the
southeastern part of the United States, you've missed one of the
most picturesque locations in North America.
Cades Cove is a 6,800 acre scenic paradise located in the Great
Smoky...
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Johnstown Flood National Memorial - Pennsylvania
Located in Southwestern Pennsylvania, Johnstown Flood National Memorial, established in 1964, commemorates the Great Johnstown Flood of May 31, 1889, and preserves the remains of the South Fork Dam.
After a night of unprecedented rainfall, one of the world's largest earthen dams collapsed, sending a wall of water over sixty feet high into the Little Conemaugh River valley. For nearly ten years, the South Fork Dam held back the majestic waters of Conemaugh Lake.
By most accounts, the dam failed at 3:10 in the afternoon. An hour later, the Flood reached Johnstown, 14 miles downstream. Along the way, the Flood destroyed almost everything in its path, causing more than $17 million in property damage.
For months, the Conemaugh Valley counted its dead. The death toll of the Flood would be set at 2,209, although it forever remained uncertain just how many were killed on that Black Friday.
Today, visitors to Johnstown Flood National Memorial can stand inches away from where the dam failed and reflect on the awful events of that day. Visitors can gain an appreciation of the historic scene of both before and after the breaking of the South Fork Dam. In the distance, visitors can also see the surviving buildings of the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club…reminders of a life once lived in the Allegheny Mountains.
South Fork Dam Trivia
1. The Johnstown Flood is considered the first major peacetime calamity in American History, although debate continues on whether the flood was a "natural" disaster.
2. The Great Storm of 1889 was the worst in recorded history to that time. Over eight inches of rain fell near Johnstown. The storm caused Conemaugh Lake to grow more than thirty percent. It was estimated that the lake normally held nearly twenty million tons of water.
3. The South Fork Dam was originally built decades earlier by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to serve as a reservoir for the state's ambitious Main Line of Public Works.
4. Persons from every state and territory in the Union and sixteen foreign nations contributed to the flood relief effort, eventually raising more than $3.7 million dollars for the people of Johnstown.
5. The town's biggest employer, the Cambria Iron Company, produced over 1/3 of the steel rails used in America, and employed more than 7,000 in some manner. Some of the furnaces of
Cambria Iron were fired up within days of the disaster.
6. Along the path of the flood, the waters destroyed the Conemaugh Viaduct, a massive stone arch built for the Allegheny Portage Railroad over fifty years before.
7. The 1889 flood was considered the first major test for the newly established American Red Cross. 67-year-old Clara Barton, known as the "Angel of the Battlefield" for her work in the Civil War, led the Red Cross effort.
8. One survivor of the Great Flood, Victor G. Heiser, later helped develop the cure for leprosy.
9. Ninety-nine families had their family genealogies ended on May 31, 1889.
10. Victims of the Great Flood would be found as late as 1911, and as far away as Cincinnati, Ohio.
11. The town had a long history of flooding, mostly in the spring. Deadly floods later affected the Johnstown area in March of 1936, and again in July of 1977.
12. Every May 31, more than 2,200 candles are lit in memory of the victims of the Great Flood of 1889. Thousands still come each year to be part of this tribute.
South Fork Dam Attractions
1. At the park's visitor center, be sure to view the award-winning film, "Black Friday," which attempts to recreate the Great Flood. Other exhibits explain the causes and the effects of the flood.
2. The Johnstown Flood Museum, in downtown Johnstown, preserves thousands of artifacts associated with the Great Flood. Its film, produced by Charles Guggenheim, won an Academy Award for 1989.
3. The Johnstown Inclined Plane, which opened in June of 1891, was built right after the flood to help transport people to the top of Westmont Hill. The Inclined Plane saved many lives in the 1936 and 1977 Johnstown floods.
4. Grandview Cemetery was only four years old when calamity struck. Today the cemetery is most associated with the 1889 disaster. More than 710 victims rest in what is called the Plot of the Unidentified Dead.
5. Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site tells the story of that marvelous inclined plane railroad that ran from 1834-1854. Parts of the old Portage Railroad were destroyed in the 1889 Flood.
About the Author
Rick Chapo is with Nomad Journals - makers of outdoor writing journals. Visit NomadJournalTrips.com to read more.
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