On May 31, 1889, the collapse of the South Fork Dam sent a wall of water crashing through Johnstown, Pennsylvania, killing more than 2,200 people in one of the deadliest disasters in American history. James Herbert Walker’s account, compiled in the immediate aftermath, draws on survivor testimony and press reports to convey the terrifying speed and scale of the catastrophe, as well as the massive relief effort that followed.
Contemporary disaster narratives like this one are essential primary sources, capturing the shock and grief of communities before institutional memory replaced lived experience. Download this free EPUB for a harrowing contemporaneous account of the Johnstown Flood.