JOHNSTOWN, Pa. (WJAC) — As we approach its 135th anniversary, we continue to look back on the events leading up to the Great Johnstown Flood of 1889.
The remains of the former canal basin in South Fork eventually came into the possession of Benjamin Ruff, the club’s founder and first president, in 1879.
He oversaw the reconstruction of the dam and had taken several shortcuts for the sake of saving money.
Everything seemed to go as planned, as Lake Conemaugh slowly became a reality.
The creation of a "mountain utopia" was successful, that is until that fateful night when two storm fronts collided over the region, producing heavy rains that lasted for hours, swelling Lake Conemaugh well beyond its capacity.
Meanwhile, approximately 14 miles away, in the city of Johnstown, the people were largely unaware of the catastrophic failure of the South Fork Dam.
They were huddled inside their homes, taking shelter from the strong storms that had descended upon them, several hours before the form of 20 million tons of water rushed towards them.
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