MADWHIT

Magical Realism in the 21st Century

Support my Studies:

liquidnight: Undertakers Oversee Unloading of Coffin Train, Johnstown Flood Johnstown, Pennsylvania, June 1889, Silver Gelatin Print On May 31, 1889, a rich man’s resort was responsible for bringing about one of the most infamous disasters in American history. The dam for Lake Conemaugh, a private fishing lake, burst flooding Pennsylvania’s Conemaugh Valley, decimating Johnstown. Over 2,200 people died, thousands were injured, and hundreds were missing. Fourteen miles up from the town, the small lake had been expanded to a length of three miles and was contained by an earthen dam 450 feet higher in elevation than Johnstown. The project had been the brainchild of the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club, whose members were wealthy Pittsburgh steel and coal executives. Andrew Carnegie and Andrew Mellon were among the club’s members. Warnings of the poor condition of the dam went unheeded. The dam broke, releasing over 20 million tons of water and debris, which traveled up to 40 miles an hour, creating a wave as high as 60 feet. It hit the town at about 4:10 PM. In ten minutes it was over. However the suffering for the company town of some 30,000 German and Welsh steelworkers was far from finished. Thousands were trapped, and houses and debris caught fire, killing eighty who had survived the flood. The cleanup took years. Bodies were still being discovered up to a decade later. Despite the shoddy condition and poor upkeep of the dam, no successful lawsuits were ever brought. Johnstown eventually rebuilt. On August 31, 1964, The Johnstown Flood National Memorial was established at the remains of the Old South Fork Dam and former lakebed. This photograph is from a series of images of the disaster. Photographs of piles of coffins were popular because they represented the numbers of dead. From Sleeping Beauty II - Grief, Bereavement and the Family in Memorial Photography by Stanley B. Burns, M.D. Much of my mother’s side of the family hails from the Johnstown area, and the stories of subsequent floods (after this most devastating one) even made their way into a high school research paper of mine. While the 1889 Johnstown flood is horrifically catastrophic to read about, it’s still so important to understand the circumstances of the disaster, and to recognize their relevance and applicability to today’s societal conundrums.

liquidnight:

Undertakers Oversee Unloading of Coffin Train, Johnstown Flood

Johnstown, Pennsylvania, June 1889, Silver Gelatin Print

On May 31, 1889, a rich man’s resort was responsible for bringing about one of the most infamous disasters in American history. The dam for Lake Conemaugh, a private fishing lake, burst flooding Pennsylvania’s Conemaugh Valley, decimating Johnstown. Over 2,200 people died, thousands were injured, and hundreds were missing. Fourteen miles up from the town, the small lake had been expanded to a length of three miles and was contained by an earthen dam 450 feet higher in elevation than Johnstown. The project had been the brainchild of the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club, whose members were wealthy Pittsburgh steel and coal executives. Andrew Carnegie and Andrew Mellon were among the club’s members. Warnings of the poor condition of the dam went unheeded. The dam broke, releasing over 20 million tons of water and debris, which traveled up to 40 miles an hour, creating a wave as high as 60 feet. It hit the town at about 4:10 PM. In ten minutes it was over. However the suffering for the company town of some 30,000 German and Welsh steelworkers was far from finished. Thousands were trapped, and houses and debris caught fire, killing eighty who had survived the flood. The cleanup took years. Bodies were still being discovered up to a decade later. Despite the shoddy condition and poor upkeep of the dam, no successful lawsuits were ever brought. Johnstown eventually rebuilt. On August 31, 1964, The Johnstown Flood National Memorial was established at the remains of the Old South Fork Dam and former lakebed. This photograph is from a series of images of the disaster. Photographs of piles of coffins were popular because they represented the numbers of dead.

From Sleeping Beauty II - Grief, Bereavement and the Family in Memorial Photography by Stanley B. Burns, M.D.

Much of my mother’s side of the family hails from the Johnstown area, and the stories of subsequent floods (after this most devastating one) even made their way into a high school research paper of mine. While the 1889 Johnstown flood is horrifically catastrophic to read about, it’s still so important to understand the circumstances of the disaster, and to recognize their relevance and applicability to today’s societal conundrums.

1 year ago

  1. reassembled reblogged this from liquidnight
  2. gosid87 reblogged this from liquidnight
  3. thekneadandtherise reblogged this from liquidnight
  4. tea-lace reblogged this from fuckyeahvictorians
  5. divinewindchime reblogged this from fuckyeahvictorians
  6. ktlb reblogged this from fuckyeahvictorians
  7. ohtexas reblogged this from fuckyeahvictorians
  8. the-giant-skeleton reblogged this from fuckyeahvictorians
  9. sm0lderingchildren reblogged this from fuckyeahvictorians
  10. linguistry reblogged this from fuckyeahvictorians
  11. fuckyeahvictorians reblogged this from devilduck
  12. turnbacktime reblogged this from devilduck
  13. devilduck reblogged this from liquidnight
  14. mobscenity reblogged this from rimeofmine
  15. clawdius reblogged this from liquidnight
  16. sevenisaninfinitenumber reblogged this from liquidnight and added:
    My family is from this area. My grandma has pictures...barn. Not anywhere near
  17. headfullofid reblogged this from liquidnight
  18. underthenameofanderson reblogged this from liquidnight
  19. julieandrewsinthecockpit reblogged this from liquidnight and added:
    not even an hour away

1 ⁄ 1

- Inkhorn theme powered by Tumblr -