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
A misnomer is a name that is incorrectly or unsuitably applied. Misnomers often arise because something was named long before its correct nature was known, or because an earlier form of something has been replaced by a later form to which the nam ...
), an artificial body of water near
South Fork, Pennsylvania,
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. 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.
History
The South Fork Dam was originally built between 1838 and 1853 by the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
as part of the
canal
Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface ...
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
The Pennsylvania Railroad ( reporting mark PRR), legal name as the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, also known as the "Pennsy," was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At its ...
, 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. Additionally, a previous owner had removed and sold for scrap the five cast iron discharge pipes that previously allowed a controlled release of water.
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.
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
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...
steel and coal
financier
An investor is a person who allocates financial capital with the expectation of a future return (profit) or to gain an advantage (interest). Through this allocated capital the investor usually purchases some species of property. Types of in ...
s and
industrialist
A business magnate, also known as an industrialist or tycoon, is a person who is a powerful entrepreneur and investor who controls, through personal enterprise ownership or a dominant shareholding position, a firm or industry whose goods or ser ...
s, including
Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie ( , ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the History of the iron and steel industry in the United States, American steel industry in the late ...
,
Andrew Mellon
Andrew William Mellon (; March 24, 1855 – August 26, 1937), known also as A. W. Mellon, was an American banker, businessman, industrialist, philanthropist, art collector, and politician. The son of Mellon family patriarch Thomas Mellon ...
,
Philander Knox,
John George Alexander Leishman, and
Henry Clay Frick
Henry Clay Frick (December 19, 1849 – December 2, 1919) 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 ...
.
Daniel Johnson Morrell, of the Cambria Iron Works of Johnstown, also became a member, ostensibly to monitor the condition of the dam.
Lake Conemaugh
Dam failure
On May 31, 1889, after several days of unprecedented rainfall, the dam gave way.
[ 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
Emergency management (also Disaster management) is a science and a system charged with creating the framework within which communities reduce vulnerability to hazards and cope with disasters. Emergency management, despite its name, does not actu ...
effort handled by the new American Red Cross
The American National Red Cross is a Nonprofit organization, nonprofit Humanitarianism, humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. Clara Barton founded ...
, led by Clara Barton
Clarissa Harlowe Barton (December 25, 1821 – April 12, 1912) was an American nurse who founded the American Red Cross. She was a hospital nurse in the American Civil War, a teacher, and a patent clerk. Since nursing education was not then very ...
. 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
In criminal and civil law, strict liability is a standard of liability under which a person is legally responsible for the consequences flowing from an activity even in the absence of fault or criminal intent on the part of the defendant.
Und ...
. 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.
See also
* Kelly Barnes Dam
References
External links
Johnstown flood museum
{{Johnstown, Pennsylvania
Buildings and structures in Cambria County, Pennsylvania
Dams in Pennsylvania
Disasters in Pennsylvania
Dam failures in the United States
1889 disasters in the United States