Johnstown Flood National Memorial

The Johnstown Flood National Memorial is a great local place to visit year round. This is the site of the historic South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club with its lake and dam. When you arrive, you can enter the two story Lake View Visitor Center, watch an award winning movie about the flood, and peruse the light up map and read the detailed info on the walls. After the museum you can head outside to walk along trails and stand on the remains of the famous dam.

Before May 31, 1889 this location was the site to the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club, the South Fork Dam and Lake Conemaugh. The dam was originally built between 1838 and 1853 by the Commonwealth of PA to be a part of the canal system. The canal system was the way in which goods were moved across the mountains before trains were able to traverse them.

This earthen work dam was 72 feet high and 931 feet long. After its completion and the end of the canal system, the dam was eventually sold into private interests. Earthen work dams when properly maintained are very safe. The South Fork Dam however, was not properly maintained. From 1881 when the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club opened to 1889, the dam frequently sprang leaks and was improperly patched with mud and straw. A previous owner had removed the cast iron discharge pipes and sold them for scrap. These pipes allowed for the controlled release of water from the man made lake.

The South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club consisted of 61 wealthy Pittsburgh financiers and industrialists and included Andrew Carnegie and Andrew Mellon. The members of the club allowed for the water level to be raised, the breast of the dam to be lowered to allow for the carriages to pass each other and they blocked up the spillway to keep the fish population inside the lake.

On the heels of the wettest spring in years, an unprecedented amount of rain began to fall at the end of May in 1889. On the morning of May 31st residents woke to a down pour of rain. The club’s engineer, John Parke noted that the lake was rising by a foot every ten minutes. At noon the first in a series of telegraphs were sent, but unfortunately the massive amount of rain had already taken out some of the telegraph lines along the route. Messages were hand delivered to some locations using up precious time. Johnstown received the last message after the dam burst.

John Parke had spent hours working with others to raise the level of the dam and clear the spill way to help with drainage. It was to no avail. He stood and watched as the dam failed at 3:10pm. He watched for 40 minutes as the three miles of water drained. 20 million tons of water emptied from the lake.

As the water made its way to Johnstown, it destroyed train lines, houses, towns, trees and anything in its path. The water reached s.peeds of 40 mph and brought with it all it had already destroyed. At 4:07 pm residents of Johnstown heard a low rumble that built to a roar like thunder. They saw a 36ft high wall of water full of trees, trains and houses come towards their town. Above the wave hung a pall of smoke and steam. Survivors would later call this the “death mist”. The wall of water smashed into Johnstown and destroyed this booming city built in a flood basin. After the water, came fires and eventually disease. The death toll officially stands at 2,209 however, hundreds were missing and never found. There are also the 40 who died of typhoid and other diseases and injuries after the flood. Clean up took years. There were no legal ramifications to the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club.

The Johnstown Flood National Memorial site has an informative two story Lake View Visitor Center that is free for visitors. They play their 35 minute long movie throughout the day at set times. The visitor center is full of detailed information and it includes a light up map that allows you to follow the path of the flood. The visitor center also has a life size display of the debris that would have been found in Johnstown.

The Lake View Visitor Center is open almost every day of the year. During the winter season, it has two days a week that it is closed. You can visit their official National Park site to check out their hours of operation.

Once finished in the visitor center, you can head outside and see the lake bed and stand on the breast of the dam. Outside you will find some informational boards to help explain what you are looking at.

Walkways take you to the breast of the dam where visitors can look from both sides of the dam. The spill way is also able to be seen.

There are several events hosted throughout the year at this site. During the summer months there are a few hikes with Rangers. You hike along as the Park Rangers explain the 1889 flood and what occurred in the areas you are in. There are two different van tours with Park Rangers. There is the Path of the Flood Van Tour and Journey around Lake Conemaugh Van Tour. The Path of the Flood Van Tour is four hours long and the Journey Around Lake Conemaugh is a hour long. There are Evening on the Lake programs. These are programs with guest speakers held on a week night.

During the Journey Around Lake Conemaugh Van Tours, the Path of the Flood Van Tours and over the anniversary weekend visitors can tour the Historic South Fork Fishing and Hunting Clubhouse in the St. Michael Historic District. In 2006 several historic structures were donated by the 1889 South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club Historical Preservation Society. The structure is a three story building with forty-seven rooms. Inside visitors can see original wood grain floors and original wall colors. There are plans for further repairs to be done the building including roof repairs, window replacement and some structural improvements.

The Johnstown Flood National Memorial site is a fascinating site to visit all year round. Check in on their National Parks page for more information and events. Their Facebook page is very active and can be used to find out about their fun park activities and updates on times and dates of events.