In the 1880’s, the elite South Fork Fishing & Hunting Club constructed a rural resort on the banks of what was originally a reservoir for the Pennsylvania Mainline Canal system. The private resort consisted of a clubhouse and 16 cottages. The members, some of Pittsburgh’s wealthiest businessmen and philanthropists, included Henry Clay Frick, Andrew Carnegie, and Philander Knox.

In the shadow of the resort, on May 30, 1889, the residents of Johnstown, PA. lined Main Street for the traditional Memorial Day Parade.  As the parade ended, a rain storm began, weakening the already unsafe earthen dam owned by the South Fork Fishing  & Hunting Club.  Behind the dam, Lake Conemaugh churned furiously.

When May 31, 1889 dawned,  the earthen dam failed, sending a deadly wall of water thundering down the narrow Conemaugh Valley on a 14-mile path of destruction toward the small community of Johnstown. One hour later, the 40-foot high flood wave - packed with trees, houses and other wreckage - crashed into Johnstown. All tolled, 2,209 people died that day.  Homes were torn apart, rail cars sent crashing through them as the wall of water careened past them. Men, women, and children were whisked from their homes in a violent upheaval of Biblical proportions. Trees smashed through windows,  wires thrashed and snapped instantaneously in the great wave’s wake.

The flood drew international attention. Relief supplies and assistance came from all over the country as well as from Europe.  In a few days, there were as many as 7,000 men working to remove the rubble and rebuild the community.

Since, the town has fallen prey to two other severe floods.  The first, occurring on St. Patrick’s Day 1936 and the other on the night of July 19, 1977. All three floods’ levels are depicted on the outside wall of Johnstown City Hall. The first marker, just above a placard dedicated to the memory of the twelve residents who perished in the flood of ‘36, checks off the eight-foot level the 1977 flood reached. The second rectangular high water mark puts the St. Patrick’s Day flood  at 17-feet. The third, reaching a staggering 21 feet, puts the May 31, 1889 flood at the highest level.

Years later, in 1973, the Johnstown Flood Museum Association (now the Johnstown Area Heritage Association) purchased, fittingly, the former Carnegie Library building. The French Gothic structure, constructed in 1891, was built as part of the flood recovery efforts spearheaded by Andrew Carnegie. The structure is now used as a museum dedicated to preserving artifacts of the Great Flood. Richard A. Burkert, Executive Director of the Johnstown Area Heritage Association, said, “The Johnstown Flood Museum examines the causes and consequences of this event and commemorates the lives lost during this tragedy. It also celebrates the incredible spirit of the people who rebuilt both their town and their lives.

"The Johnstown Flood is a legendary event in United States history which continues to shock and amaze modern Americans.”

Now the Johnstown Flood Museum, after a $4.1 million face-lift in 1989, features multi-media exhibits that detail the faulty construction of the dam, its collapse, and the community’s development prior to the flood. Artifacts from the era decorate the interior, empty vessels of a tragedy so few can identify with; but of an event forever ingrained in the human psyche.

One of the most provocative exhibits includes a 26-minute documentary, Charles Guggenheim’s Academy Award-winning homage, ‘The Johnstown Flood’. Archival photographs, dramatizations and special effects are meshed in an evocative recreation of the chain of events leading to the 1889 flood. The film also won the CINE Gold Eagle and the Chicago International Film Festival’s Silver Hugo.

As well as the permanent exhibits, the museum also holds a third floor gallery dedicated entirely to a variety of temporary displays. The gallery is used to examine other matters that affected the Johnstown community. Topics range from the Great Depression to the history of the steel making industry and their effects to region.

It is perhaps one of the greatest achievements when mankind gets up from the rubble and begins to rebuild. A tenacity and verve unrecognizable as anything but a humanistic trait that makes us all push forward. Researchers and scholars may never know the exact causes and consequences of the Great Johnstown Flood, a “pivotal event in the region’s history,” added Burkert. The one thing that is known: we got up and we rebuilt.
 
What You Should Know Before You Go:
    The Johnstown Flood Museum  is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. from Novemeber 1 to April 30. From May to October 31, the museum is open 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., Sunday through Thursday. On Friday and Saturday, the museum is open 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. The museum is closed Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day. Admission is $4.00 for adults, $3.25 for seniors (over 65), and $2.50 for students (6-18), children under six are admitted free. Group tours are available but must be scheduled one week in advance.
 
How To Get There:
     TakeRoute 220/ Interstate 99 North to Route 56 West (Fishertown/Cessna Exit). Travel approximately 30 miles to 219 North. Take the 56 West exit (The Johnstown Expressway) and follow it until it ends at a stoplight. Turn right onto Walnut Street. At the third stoplight on Walnut Street, turn right onto Washington Street. The museum is on this corner on the right.
 
For More Information:
Call the Johnstown Area Heritage Association at (814) 539-1889.