Johnstown weekly Democrat. (Johnstown, Cambria County, Pa.) 1889-1916, 1889-07-05
THE BREAKING OF THE DAM.
Unsuccessful Efforts to Save History of TIN
Engineer who Saw it Go.


Unsuccessful Efforts to Save History of the
Engineer who Saw 1t Go.
The following account of the breaking
of the dam, from the lips of John G.
Park, Jr., civil engineer who was en-
gagged on the grounds of the South Fork
club:
son Thursday night the dam was in
perfect condition, and the water was not
within seven feet of the top. AT that
stage the lake is nearly three miles long.
1t rained very hard Thursday night am
told, for slept too soundly myself to hear
it, but when I got up Friday morning l
could see there was flood, for the water
was over the drive in front of the club
house, and the level of the water in the
lake had risen until it was only four feet
below the top of the dam. rode up to
the head of the lake and saw that the
woods were boiling full of water. South
Fork and Muddy Run which emptied into
the lake were fetching down trees, logs,
cut timber and stuff from saw mill that
was up in the woods in that direction.
This was abont 4;30 o'clock. When | re-
turned Col. Unger, the president of the
club, hired twenty-five Italians, and a
number of farmers joined IN to work on
the dam. Altogether thirty men were at
work. A plough was run along the top
of the dam, and earth was thrown in the
face of the dam to strengthen it. AT the
same time channel was dug on the west
end of the dam to make a sluiceway there.
There was about three feet of shale rock
through which it was possible to cut, but
then we struck bed rock that it was i'm
possible to get into without blasting.
When we got the channel opened, the
water soon secured down to the bed
rock, and stream twenty feet wide and
three feet deep rushed out on that end of
the dam, while the weir was letting an
enormous quantity on the other end.
Notwithstanding these outlets, the water
kept rising at the rate of about ten inches
an hour,
"By 11:30 | had made up my mind that
it was impossible to save the dam, and,
getting ON my horse, l galloped down
the road to South Fork to warn the peo-
pie of their danger. The telegraph
tower is mile from town, and sent two
men there to have messages sent to Johns
town and other points below. l heard
that the lady operator had tainted when
she had sent off news, and had to be car
ried off. The people at South Fork had
ample time to get to the high grounds,
and they were able to move their furni-
ture too. In fac. only one person was
drowned at South Fork, and he while at
tempting to fish something from the flood
as it rolled by. 1t was just 12 o'clock
when the telegraph messages were sent
out, so that the people of Johnstown had
over three hours warning.
GAS rode back to the dam | expected
almost every moment to meet the lake
coming down on me, but the dam was
still intact, although the water had reach
ed the top. At about 1 o'clock walked
over the dam. At that time the water
was three inches deep on it, and was
gradually eating the earth on the outer
face. AS the stream rolled down the
outer face it kept wearing down the edge
of the embankment, and / saw it was
merely question of time. then went
up to the club house and got dinner, and
when l returned saw that great deal
more of the outer edTe of the dam had
crumbled away. The dam did not give
way. At rough guess should say that
there were 10000, 900 tons of water in that
lake, and the pressure of that mass of
water was increased by floods from two
streams pouring into it, but the dam
would have stood it could the level of
the lake have been kept below the top of
of the dam. But the friction of the
water pouring over the dam gradually
wore it away from the outer face until
the top became so thin that it gave way.
."The break took place at o'clock. 1t
was about ten feet wide at first and shall
low, but now that the flood had made a
gap, it grew wider with increasing rapid
ity, and the lake went roaring down the
valley. That three miles of water was
drained out in forty-ive minutes. The
downfalls of those millions of tons was
simply irresistible Stones from the dam
and boulders in the river bed were car
ried for miles. Trees went down like you
might cut a MULLEN stalk with swish of
your cane. 1t was terrible sight to see
that avalanche of water go down that val
ley already choked with floods. Col.
Unger was completely prostrated by it
and was laid up at the club house sick
from his experiences"