Last updated: March 2, 2024
Place
May 31, 1889- "The dam is becoming dangerous" Wayside
NPS
Quick Facts
Amenities
1 listed
Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits
Description of Wayside: The wayside is 36 x 24 inches and is surrounded by black metal. It has a black rectangular base with two rectangular pillars supporting the panel. The wayside is on top of the South Fork Dam near the parking lot and South Abutment.
Wayside Layout: At the top of the wayside is a thin black banner with white text. To the left is "Johnstown Flood National Memorial." To the right the text is "National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior." The National Park Service arrowhead is on the right. The title of the wayside is below the black banner in large black font. The panel has a cream-colored background. There are two columns of text and three images.
Wayside Title: May 31, 1889- The dam is becoming dangerous.
Text: Italian immigrant laborers with picks and shovels dig at the earth here in a desperate attempt to save the dam. If the dam were to collapse, they would be swept to their deaths. These men had been hired that spring to dig a sewer system for the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club. They had been sleeping in tents in the nearby woods the night that the biggest storm of the century hit the mountains surrounding Lake Conemaugh. The next morning the men were pressed into service digging a second spillway in a last, heroic effort to prevent one of the worst disasters in American history.
Image: The South Fork Dam after the rebuilding by the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club in 1881 with text showing your location. NPS/Harpers Ferry Center.
Image: John G. Parke, Jr.
Image: A male laborer in work clothes with his sleeves rolled up using a shovel.
Wayside Layout: At the top of the wayside is a thin black banner with white text. To the left is "Johnstown Flood National Memorial." To the right the text is "National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior." The National Park Service arrowhead is on the right. The title of the wayside is below the black banner in large black font. The panel has a cream-colored background. There are two columns of text and three images.
Wayside Title: May 31, 1889- The dam is becoming dangerous.
Text: Italian immigrant laborers with picks and shovels dig at the earth here in a desperate attempt to save the dam. If the dam were to collapse, they would be swept to their deaths. These men had been hired that spring to dig a sewer system for the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club. They had been sleeping in tents in the nearby woods the night that the biggest storm of the century hit the mountains surrounding Lake Conemaugh. The next morning the men were pressed into service digging a second spillway in a last, heroic effort to prevent one of the worst disasters in American history.
Image: The South Fork Dam after the rebuilding by the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club in 1881 with text showing your location. NPS/Harpers Ferry Center.
Image: John G. Parke, Jr.
Image: A male laborer in work clothes with his sleeves rolled up using a shovel.