Johnstown Flood

The Johnstown Flood recounts one of America's major disasters that occurred in Gilded Age Pennsylvania. At the end of the nineteenth century, Johnstown was a prosperous coal-and-steel town where working families pursued industrial opportunity. In the mountains above the town, an old earth dam was hastily rebuilt to create a lake for an exclusive summer resort used by industrial tycoons including Andrew Carnegie, Henry Clay Frick, and Andrew Mellon. Despite repeated warnings about potential danger, no action was taken to address concerns about the dam's safety. On May 31, 1889, the dam burst, releasing a wall of water that descended the mountain, destroyed Johnstown, and killed more than 2,000 people. The tragedy became a national scandal. The book presents a portrait of nineteenth-century American life, examining themes of confidence, industrial energy, and the consequences of negligence. It illustrates a historical lesson about the risks of assuming that people in positions of responsibility necessarily act responsibly.