On May 31, 1889, heavy rains caused a lake up the valley from Johnstown, PA, to crash through a neglected earthen dam. A 40-foot high wave of water scooped up small towns and demolished the Gautier Wire Mill, adding miles of barbed wire to the wave. House debris, trees and people were bound in a constricting knot. The surging death ball crashed into Johnstown, whisking most of the buildings down to a large stone bridge at the neck of the valley. Sixty acres of debris and people finally settled.
Then it caught fire and burned for three days. Over 2,200 people died.
The Johnstown Flood Museum is housed in the Carnegie Library, and exhibits artifacts from the "Great Flood."
