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Chapter 1.
Introduction
[Narrator]
On the 31st day of May,
1889, more than 2,000 lives
were lost when the South
Fork dam collapsed. An
entire lake, 20 million tons
of water, crashed down the
Conemaugh valley through a
half dozen towns on its way
to Johnstown, Pennsylvania.
It wiped out nearly
everything in between, but
by many accounts Johnstown
suffered the most gruesome
and disturbing fate of all .
It is 1889, and the thriving
industrial village of
Johnstown is nestled deep
within the lush, green
Conemaugh river valley in
the Allegheny Mountains of
central Pennsylvania.
Johnstown and its
surrounding towns and
boroughs, are happy and
prosperous with bustling
industries and home to more
than 30,000 people, many of
whom are recent immigrants
from Europe trying to make a
living in America.
Peacefully running through
the valley and low lying
towns, The Little Conemaugh
River and Stony Creek
meander along their rocky
channels until they unite to
form the Conemaugh River
near the great stone
Pennsylvania Railroad bridge
in the heart of Johnstown,
the queen city of the
valley.
An important stop on the
line, all railroad trains
eastward bound stop there to
catch their breath before
beginning the long climb up
the Allegheny mountains on
tracks that run along the
river bank.
Johnstown was founded in
1791 by a German settler,
Joseph Johns. The town
became a center of
navigation to western rivers
and over the next century
became a place of shipment
for iron and lumber.
It became one of the busiest
towns in one of the busiest
states. The thunder of steam
hammers, the roar of rolling
mills, the clatter of
thousands of anvils - the
musical symphony of myriad
machines could be heard
night and day.
The economic engine of the
Conemaugh Valley was the
Cambria Iron Works, built by
pioneer ironworkers in the
early 1800s.
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