Evening journal., 1889-06-04
BEFORE THE FLOOD.
JoHKSToWN BEFORE The WAVE
OF DESTRUCTION.

Johnstown was in the southwest Part
of Cambria county, at the forks where
Stony creek and Conemaugh creek form
the Conemaugh river. 1t was on the
Pennsylvania railroad, thirty-nine miles
southwest OF Altoona and seventy eight
miles east of Pittsburg. The people of
the town were the employees of the Cam
bria Iron and Steel Company, their fami-
lies and small store-keepers. There was
not one rich man in the town.
Three-quarters of the %, 900 people lived
in small frame tenement houses on the
flats by the river around the works of the
Cambria Company The Cambria Com
pany owns almost all the land, and the
business and professional men and the
superintendents of the company live on
the hills away up from the creeks. The
creeks become the Conemaugh river
right at the end of the town, near where
the big stone Pennsylvania railroad
bridge crosses the liver.
The borough of Johnstown was on the
south bank Of Conemaugh creek and the
east bank of Stony creek, right in the
fork. 1t had only about third Of the
population Of the place. II had never
been Incorporated with the surrounding
villages, as the Cambria Company, which
owned most Of the villages and only part
of Johnstown, did not wish TO have them
consolidated into one city. These viii
lagos lay in string along Conemaugh
creek, which flows from the reservoir, or
Conemaugh lake.
The first Of the villages which the flood
struck was ten miles above Johnstown
borough, and on the fats made by the
junction Of small creek with Cone
maugh creek This village is occupied
entirely by workingmen who lived on
the fats in tenements, 1t was shown as
South Fork. Il had population of about
1,4OO. Three miles below South Fork
was Mineral Point, cluster of working
mems houses about half the size
Neither Of these towns was part Of
Johnstown.
Conemaugh was the largest village on
the creek between the reservoir and
Johnstown. 1t is often spoken Of as part
of Johnstown, though its railroad station
is two or three miles up the creek from
the Johnstown station. The streets of
the two towns run into each other and
the space between the two stations is
well built up along the creek. Part Of
the Cambria Iron and Steel Company's s
works are at Conemaugh, and 5000 or
& 200 Of the workingmen and their fami
lies lived there. The business was done
in Johnstown borough, where almost all
dhe stores of Johnstown city were
The works Of the Cambria Company
were strung along from here down into
Johnston proper. They were slightly
isolated TO prevent fire in one spreading
TO the others, and because there was not
much fiat land to build on. The Penn
sylvania road runs along the river, and
the works were built beside it,
Between Conemaugh and Johnstown
borough was a string Of tenements along
the river which-was called Woolvale
Possibly 5000 workmen lived in them.
They were slightly built of wood,
many Of them without cellars or
stone foundations. There were some
substantially built houses In the
borough at the fork. Here the flats
widen ont somewhat, and they had been
still further Increased in extent by the
Cambria Company which filed up part
of the creek beds with refuse and ashes
from their works This narrowed the
beds Of the creeks The made land was
not far above the water at ordinary times.
Even during the ordinary spring floods
the water rose so high that IL flowed
into the cellars OF the tenements. and
at times into the works. The reservoir.
the breaking Of which caused the flood,
has served somewhat TO equalize the
depth Of the main creek by holding the
water back. The natural land was occu-
pied by the business part Of the town,
where the stores were and the store
keepers had their residences The
borough had a population OF about o, COO
ON the north bank Of the river were a
third as many people more living in tene-
ments built and owned by the Cambria
tHnnnnnv Esrut b,1, IA
junction Of the two creeks, along both
banks Of the Conemaugh river, were
about 4,000 employees of the Cambria
Company and their families. The place
where they lived was called Cambria or
Cambria City. All these villages and
boroughs made MP what is known as the
CITY of lohnstown
The Cambria Company employed about
1000 men in its works and mines. Be
sides these were some railroad shops,
planning mills -four mills, several banks
and newspapers. Only the men employed
by the Cambria Company and their fami-
lies lived on the fats and made ground.
The Cambria Company owned all this
land, and made It a rule not TO sell IL, but
TO lease II The company put rows OF
two story frame tenenents close together
on their land close TO the works, the
cheaper class OF tenements in solid blocks
to cheaper their construction. The
better tenements were separate build.
ings, with two families to the house
The tenements rented for from IS to $i5
a month. and cost possibly, on the aver
age, $500 to build. They were all OF wooC
many Of them without cellars, and wer,
built as cheaply as possible. The timber
We're mostly pine, light and inflammable
1t was not an uncommon thing for fir
to break out and burn one or two rows o
tenements But the different rows wer
not closely punched, but We're sprinkle
around in patches near the separat
works, and it was cheaper for the com
pany to rebuild occasionally than to pu
up brick houses
Besides owning the fats. the Cambri
Company owned the surrounding hills
In one Of the hills is limestone, in anothe
coal and there Is iron ore not far away
The company has narrow-guage roads
running from its mines down to tn
works the city was at the foot of thes
three hills which meet in double
shape. COnemaugh creek flowing dow
one and Stony creek flowing down til
other The hills are not so far di
tant that a man with rifle @
any one could not shoot to eth,
of the others They are sever
hundred feet high and so steep that roas
run up them by series of zigzag grade
Few people live on these hills except on
small rise Of ground across the river fro