The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1889-06-15
MoRGANTowN, WEST VIRGINIA, SATURDAY, JUNE 15 1885,

distant that man with a rifle on
any one could not shoot to either of
the others. They are several hun
bred feet high and SO steep that
roads run up them by series of zig
gag grades. Few people live on these
hills except on small rise of ground
across the river from Johnstown. In
some places the company has leased
the land for dwelling houses, but it
retains the ownership of the land
and of the coal, iron and limestone
in it. The flats having all been oc-
cupied, the company in recent years
had to put some tenements of a bet
ter class on the north bank of the
river higher up than the flood reach
ed. The business part Of the town
also was higher up than the works
and the tenements of the company.
In normal times the river is but a
few hundred feet wide. The bottom
is stony. The current is so fast
that there is little deposit along the
bank. 1t is navigable at no time,
though in the spring good canoeist
might go down it if he could steer
clear of the rocks. In the summer
the volume of water diminished so
much that boy with pair of rub
Der boots on can wade across with
out getting his feet wet, and there
have been times when good Jump
er could cross the river on the dry
stones. Below Johnstown, after
Stony creek has Joined the Cone
maugh creek, the volume of water
increases, but the Conemaugh
throughout its whole length is moth
ing but mountain stream, dry in
summer and roaring in the spring.
1t runs down in the Kiskiminitas
river and into the Allegheny river
and then ON to Pittsburg. It's over
100 miles from Johnstown to Pitts
burg following the windings of the
river, twice as far as the straight
line.
YOUNGSTOWN was one of the busiest
towns of its size in the State. It's
tonnage over the Pennsylvania and
Baltimore and Ohio roads was larger
than the tonnage of many cities
three times its size. The Iron and
Steel Company is one of the largest
iron and steel corporations in the
world. 1t had its main rolling mills,
Bessemer steel works and wire works
in Johnstown, though it also has
works in other places, and owns ore
and coal mines and leases in the
South, in Michigan and in Spain,
besides its Pennsylvania works. 1t
had in Johnstown and the surround
ing villages 1000 or 5000 men u.s.
ually at work. In flush times it has
employed more than 5000 So i'm
portant was the town from rail
road point of view that the Balti-
more and Ohio ran branch from
lockwood, on its main line, to Pitts
burg up to Johnstown, As miles. 1t
was one of the main freight stations
on the Pennsylvania road, though
the passenger business was so small
in proportion that some express
trains do not stop there. The Penn
sylyania road recently put up
large brick station, which was one
of the few buildings on the fats
Some of the Cambria Company's Of
fees we're also of brick, and there
was brick lodging house for young
men in the employ of the company.
The Pennsylvania road had repair
shops there, which employed few
hundred men, and the Baltimore and
Ohio branch had some smaller shops.
Johnstown had several Catholic,
and Presbyterian, Methodist, Bap-
tist and Lutheran churches. 1t had
several daily and weekly papers.
The chief were the Tribune, the
Democrat, and the Freie Presse. The
town was democratic, like Cambria
county.
The reservoir that broke loose, was
p art Of the old Pennsylvania canal
system. At the head of the Cone
maugh creek, back in the mountains
from Johnstown, and about 800 feet
higher than the Youngstown fats,w was
a small natural lake. When the
canal was building, the engineers
took this lake to supply the western
division of the canal, which ran from
there to Pittsburg. The eastern di-
vision ended at Hollidaysburg, east
of the summit at the Alleghanies,
where there was similar reservoir
Between the two was the old Portage
Read, one of the first railroads con
structed in the State. The canal
was abandoned some years ago, as
the Pennsylvania Road destroyed its
traffic. The Pennsylvania Company
got grant of the canal from the
State. Some years after the canal
was abandoned the Hollidaysburg
reservoir was torn down. The water
escaped into the Frank
fort branch of the Juniata river.
The people of the neighborhood OBJ
jected to the existence of the reser-
voir after the canal was abandoned,
as little attention was paid to the
reservoir, and the farmers in the val
ley below feared that the dam would
break and drown them. The water
was all let out of that reservoir
about three years ago.
The dam above Johnstown greatly
increased the small natural lake
there. 1t was pleasant drive from
Johnstown to the reservoir Boat
ing and fishing parties often went
out there. Near the reservoir is
Cresson, a summer resort owned by
the Pennsylvania Road Excursion
parties are made up in the summer
time by the Pennsylvania Company
ond special trains are run for them
from New York to Cresson. A club
called the South Fork Fishing and
Hunting Club was organized some
years ago, and got the use of the
lake from the Pennsylvania Com
pany. Most of the members of the
club live in Pittsburg, and are prom
inent iron and coal men, Besides
them there are some of the officials
Of the Pennsylvania Road among
the members. They increased the
size of the dam until it was over a
hundred feet high and ninety feet
thick at the base. 1t was about 20
feet thick at the top, and about a