Remnants of the dam are preserved as part of Johnstown Flood National Memorial, established in 1964. Johnstown Area Heritage Association . The flood was as wide as the Mississippi River and three times more powerful than Niagara Falls. Over 2,000 die in the Johnstown Flood. In modern times, this former library is owned by the Johnstown Area Heritage Association, and houses The Flood Museum. He was given a hero's welcome. And how could a dam fall into such disrepair and fail? In simple terms, many saw the Club members as “robber barons” who had gotten away with murder. The Johnstown Flood of May 31, 1889, is one of those stories that grabbed ahold of me and wouldn’t let go until I’d finished reading David McCullough’s fine, engaging book. The Great Flood / Why? People in Johnstown felt the indifference of the club particularly cruel. JAHA Home Education Home Flood Museum Discovery Center Wagner-Ritter House . When the flood happened, Carnegie happened to be in Paris, France. In the song, Roberts remembers a carefree time dancing with his future wife Maria to a song about the Johnstown Flood. When the full story of the flood came to light, many believed that if this was a … Education: Johnstown Flood Museum . The South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club made changes to South Fork dam that contributed to the structure’s failure on May 31, 1889. The Johnstown Flood was the catalyst that allowed Pennsylvania to raise a hidden tax on alcohol, making it one of the most expensive states for booze. I wanted to know how two thousand people could just die because of a broken dam. The South Fork Dam collapses on this day in 1889, causing a flood in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, that kills more than 2,200 people. Carnegie was one of more than 50 members of the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club, which has been blamed for the Johnstown Flood that killed 2,209 people in 1889. Over 2,200 were dead, with many more homeless. From Paris, Carnegie, through the American ambassador, Whitelaw Reid, called a meeting of Americans to address the disaster. On June 1,1889, Americans woke to the news that Johnstown, Pennsylvania had been devastated by the worst flood in the Nation's history. Scouring its way towards Johnstown, the flood picked up several hundred boxcars, a dozen locomotives, more than 100 houses and a growing number of corpses. Before your visit to the Johnstown Flood Museum; Laying groundwork: After learning about the causes and effects of flooding in Pennsylvania generally, students will use a topographical map to hypothesize what factors might have contributed to the severity of the Johnstown Flood of … On November 28, 1889, he came to Johnstown and donated $10,000 for the rebuilding of the public library in Johnstown. For more, visit the section about the 1889 flood in the Archives & Research section of this site. History of the Southfork Dam . Springsteen and “Night of the Johnstown Flood” The Highway Patrolman of Springsteen’s song, Joe Roberts, tells how he struggles with his loyalties when his brother Franky breaks the law. Why Here? But year after year the dam had held, so the people of Johnstown stopped worrying. After the flood, Andrew Carnegie, one of the club's better known members, built the town a new library. Johnstown in 1889 was a steel company town of Germans and Welsh. Over 2,200 were dead, with many more homeless. The … Before your Visit During your Visit After your Visit Rebuild or Move on?