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Johnstown
Flood National Memorial
- photos taken September 2006, TMC.
 The
Johnstown Flood National Memorial established by Congress in 1964, commemorates
the tragic Johnstown Flood of May 31, 1889 by preserving the remains of the
South Fork Dam. Exhibits and programs in the Visitor's Center describe the
flood's origin and destructive power. A trail from the Visitor's Center
leads to viewpoints of the historic dam and lakebed.
The Johnstown Flood National Memorial has many cultural
resources within its boundary. The historic South Fork Fishing and Hunting
Clubhouse, and cottages line Main Street in St. Michael's. The remnants of the
South Fork Dam and the restored Unger House all are important in the story of
the Great Johnstown Flood of 1889. The park has a visitor center and a wonderful
film entitled “Black Friday”.
The Unger Hosue
Colonel Elias Unger probably never had a military record. He
was, however, the manager of hotels along the Pennsylvania Railroad and the
Seventh Avenue Hotel in Pittsburgh. These accomplishments did not get him much notoriety
after his death in 1896, but what did was one of the worst disasters in United
States history.
Unger happened to be, in 1889, the president of a corporation who maintained a
dam and resort property called the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club. This
resort was located high up in the Allegheny Mountains near Johnstown, PA, a city
in central Pennsylvania.
In the early morning hours of May 31, 1889 Unger noticed that
the level of Lake Conemaugh had risen considerably during the night of the
thirtieth. Elias then made a quick calculation and estimated that the dam was
rising 4-6 inches per hour.  This
scene alarmed Unger and around 10:00 AM he ordered 10-20 Italian laborers to
start digging a spillway on the west end of the dam and to try to heighten the
top of the breast. The immigrants worked heroically but the situation,
unfortunately, grew worse. So Unger ordered a young graduate of the
University of Pennsylvania, John Parke (who was also the club’s resident
engineer), to ride to the nearest town (South Fork) and get a message to
Johnstown about the condition of the dam. During Parke’s ride, water
started pouring over the top of the dam and once the young man returned from
South Fork saving the dam seemed like a hopeless cause. The water was
rising faster than the men could build up the dam so at 2:45 PM Unger returned
to his home above the South Fork dam due to exhaustion.
At 3:15 PM the South Fork dam finally gave way spilling the
entire contents of Lake Conemaugh into the valley leading to Johnstown. The
result of the 20 million-ton lake was over 2,000 dead in the valley.
-from the website of the National
Parks Service
-page last updated September 2006, TMC.
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