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Johnstown, Pennsylvania
Four times disastrous floods have claimed Johnstown, which is in a deep, irregular valley formed by Stony Creek and the Little Conemaugh and Conemaugh rivers. The first two floods, in 1862 and 1889, were a result of the collapse of the South Fork Dam, about 12 miles east on the Conemaugh. Some of the older buildings still show high water marks of the 1889 disaster, one of the country's worst peacetime catastrophes. Debris held behind a stone bridge area caught fire and added to the losses, which included some 2,200 lives. The Path of the Flood Trail is a hiking/biking trail following the roughly 14-mile path of the 1889 flood. The trail begins in Ehrenfeld and then joins the National Park Service's Staple Bend Tunnel Site for a short distance. There is about a .75-mile gap until it picks up again just past the Franklin Ballfield area to Pershing Avenue/Clapboard Run Road; the route then continues into Johnstown and ends at the Johnstown Flood Museum. Kiosks and interpretive panels along the way detail the devastating event. For more information about the route contact the Cambria County Conservation & Recreation Authority, (814) 472-2110, or the visitors bureau, (814) 536-7993. Learn More...
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