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The Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki The Black Death The Dust Bowl The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 The Hindenburg Disaster of 1937 Hurricane Katrina The Indian Ocean Tsunami of 2004 The Influenza Pandemic of 1918–1919 The Johnstown Flood of 1889 The San Francisco Earthquake and Fire of 1906 The Sinking of the Titanic The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire Rachel A. Koestler-Grack The Johnstown Flood of 1889 Copyright © 2008 by Infobase Publishing All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher. For information contact: Chelsea House An imprint of Infobase Publishing 132 West 31st Street New York NY 10001 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Koestler-Grack, Rachel A., 1973Johnstown flood of 1889 / Rachel A. Koestler-Grack. p. cm.—(Great historic disasters) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN: 978-0-7910-9763-2 (hardcover) 1. Floods—Pennsylvania—Johnstown (Cambria County)—History—19th century—Juvenile literature. 2. Johnstown (Cambria County, Pa.)— History—19th century—Juvenile literature. I. Title. II. Series. F159.J7K64 2008 2008004894 974.8'77—dc22 Chelsea House books are available at special discounts when purchased in bulk quantities for businesses, associations, institutions, or sales promotions. Please call our Special Sales Department in New York at (212) 967-8800 or (800) 322-8755. You can find Chelsea House on the World Wide Web at http://www.chelseahouse.com Text design by Annie O’Donnell Cover design by Ben Peterson Printed in the United States of America Bang KT 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 This book is printed on acid-free paper. All links and Web addresses were checked and verified to be correct at the time of publication. Because of the dynamic nature of the Web, some addresses and links may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. Contents Introduction: Ten Minutes of Terror 7 1 Booming Steel Town 13 2 The Storm Begins 21 3 Three Warnings 32 4 Lake Conemaugh Unleashed 38 5 A Roar Like Thunder 52 6 The Survivors Emerge 65 7 Pointing Fingers 79 Chronology and Timeline 90 Glossary 93 Bibliography 94 Further Reading 95 Picture Credits 96 Index 97 About the Author 101 introduction: ten Minutes of terror O n Friday, May 31, 1889, the water in front of the Heiser dry-goods store on Washington Street had been knee-deep all afternoon. Never, in all the years of floods at Johnstown, had the water crept so far into that part of town. That morning, people had been in and out of the store, buying supplies to get them through the thick of spring flooding. The floor was slick with mud, and the scent of tobacco and wet wool hung in the warm, damp air. George Heiser was much too busy taking care of customers to pay attention to what was happening outside. But by early afternoon, the street had sunk under two feet of water. The local shops were all but empty, except for an occasional customer. Shortly before 4:00, George Heiser sent his 16-year-old son, Victor, out to the barn to check on the horses. Earlier, they had tied the animals to their stalls. George worried that if the water got much higher, the horses might strangle themselves. So, Victor went out to untie them. The new glossy red barn stood on higher ground at the back of their lot. Victor slipped off his shoes and socks and pulled on