1977 Johnstown Flood
Famous dog statue from 1889 Johnstown flood returns
The Johnstown Area Heritage Society (JAHA) says the statue was made in the late 1800s by New York City's J.W. Fiske Iron Works. Cambria Iron executive James Morley bought the statue and kept it on his lawn at Main and Walnut, until the May 31, 1889, flood devastated the town. It was recovered after the flood and returned to the family. The statue was eventually donated to the city in the 1940s.1977 Johnstown Flood - News
The historical society said neither is true, but the misconception probably was fueled by a reference to the flood and the statue in the 1977 Paul Newman movie Slap Shot. In actuality, the famous statue was ordered out of a catalog.
The statue was swept away from the lawn of an Iron industry executive in the Great Flood of 1889, recovered from a huge pile of debris, and later donated to the city. The Johnstown Area Heritage Society says the statue was made in the late 1800s by New
In 1977, a flash flood hit Johnstown, Pa., killing more than 80 people and causing $350 million worth of damage. In 1982, Irish Republican Army bombs exploded in two London parks, killing 11 soldiers, along with seven horses belonging to the Queen's
The Johnstown Flood | NaturesWrath.ORG
After recently reading “In Sunlight, In a Beautiful Garden,” a fictionalized account of the events leading up to the Johnstown flood, I decided to learn more about the flood. Not only did the novelist list McCullough’s book as a source, but it was recommended to me by a friend who reads a lot of American history. This author does an outstanding job in writing the history of the worst flood in a non-coastal area of the U.S.–this book is a real page-turner!
McCullough relates the history of the South Fork property on which the dam and lake were located, including the purchase of this property by rich men from Pittsburgh, among them Carnegie, Frick, Mellon, and Horne. They formed the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club, a mountain resort, and built a clubhouse for use by members. Sixteen members also built large “cottages” around the 350-acre lake that had been formed by the earthen dam which was first built between 1840 and 1850. When these men bought the property in 1879, the dam had been totally neglected so “repairs” were made. Unfortunately, no engineer had anything to do with these repairs, which consisted mostly of throwing junk, branches, rocks, and hay against the dam. During this time, the outlet pipes at the bottom of the dam were removed and sold as scrap. Other ingredients in this recipe for disaster were the pipes that were put in near the dam to prevent fish from leaving the lake. These would also, it was found later, allow debris to build up and cause water to spill over the dam more easily.
The inevitable occurred in 1889, on Memorial Day, when a huge storm caused the lake to rise above the dam. With no outlet pipes to lower the level of the water, the water poured over the top, at the center. The dam soon gave way, allowing the contents of the huge lake to rush 15 miles down the mountain, destroying everything in its path, including the town of Johnstown.
When McCullough describes this wall of water descending the mountain and the destruction that occurred, the picture he painted was beyond belief. The torrent of water brought with it livestock, houses, trains, tracks, machinery, barbed wire and everything else that was in its path.
In the face of such complete chaos and horror, level heads prevailed. The day after the flood, townspeople held a meeting at which it was decided that a “dictator” was needed. Arthur Moxham was subsequently chosen and he immediately set up several committees to take care of removing dead animals and wreckage, setting up morgues and temporary hospitals, deputizing a police force (which cut out tin stars from cans found in the debris), handling finances, and obtaining supplies.
1977 Johnstown Flood - Bookshelf
Johnstown, Pennsylvania, A History: 1937-1980
“Council Sets Stage for Sending Funds to Flood-Relief Center,” ibid., March 23, 1978. 597. Glosser, Weakland and Olek, “The Johnstown Flood of 1977 and How ...The Johnstown Flood
... 1839 1862 1879 1889 1936 1937 1977 Johnstown, Pennsylvania, is founded. ... Johnstown floods again and 25 people die. A flood-control system is built. ...The 1977 southwestern Pennsylvania flood, a 500 year flood
INTRODUCTION The 1977 Johnstown Flood is history to a new generation that has heard many tales of previous Johnstown floods such as that of 1889 and 1936. ...The Johnstown flood, 1977, a composite of narration and photographs covering the communities of Bealtown, Beaverdale, Burrell Twp. ...
American history through earth science
One of the great ironies of the 1977 Johnstown flood is that those homeowners responsible and aware enough to build up on the hillsides, ...Day-after-day Report Directory
1936 & 1977 Floods
The Johnstown Area Heritage Association (JAHA) is a non-profit organization that exists ... The 1977 flood was a blow to Johnstown's increasingly fragile economy. Many downtown ...
Johnstown Flood - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Johnstown Flood (or Great Flood of 1889 as it became known ... More recently, on the night of July 19, 1977, a relentless storm reminiscent of 1889 bombarded the watershed ...
Johnstown Pa Flood of 1977 - Historic
The dams that surround Johnstown, stretching throughout the Conemaugh ... Valley The rainfall and the dam failures created the Great Flood of 1977. ...
JOHNSTOWN FLOOD OF 19-20 JULY 1977
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Facts About the Johnstown Flood
The Johnstown Area Heritage Association (JAHA) is a non-profit organization that exists ... ( Click here for more information on the 1936 and 1977 floods) ...