By Harold H. Strayer and Irving L. London

In 1889 Johnstown was a thriving and industrious city having a population of about 30,000 which included the surrounding boroughs. It was a city surrounded by mountains and was reached by the great lines of the Pennsylvania and Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. Every inch of available ground was studded with dwelling houses, up to date business establishments, the immense manufacturing establishment of the world famous Cambria Iron Company, the Johnson Street Railway Company and the homes of workmen.

On the morning of May 31st Johnstown was already under two to seven feet of water as it had been raining steadily for a week and historians reported that it was the heaviest rainfall of the century. By 11:00 A.M. the rivers had overflowed their banks, the Poplar Street bridge had been washed away and many persons were busy carrying their household goods to the second floor. Rafts and boats were taking women to higher ground. This happened regularly because spring floods were common in Johnstown and the residents did not seem worried about the dam. Every year since the dam was built the city had been warned that the dam might break. The warning so often proved unnecessary that little attention was paid to it on May 31, 1889. Most of the people of Johnstown and the Conemaugh Valley felt that if the dam did break it would do no more damage than to add two or three feet of water to the already flooded city. 

At about 4:00 P.M. the flood water struck the town. In little more than ten minutes its worst work was done. More than 2,200 lives were lost and the thriving and industrious city lay in ruin.