Johnstown: Floods, Steel, and a Mountain Valley City
Johnstown is a city in Cambria County, in the Laurel Highlands of western Pennsylvania about 70 miles east of Pittsburgh. The population is approximately 18,200, down from a peak of roughly 67,000 in 1920. The city was founded in 1800 by Joseph Schantz (Johns) and was incorporated as a borough in 1831 and as a city in 1889. It sits at the confluence of the Little Conemaugh and Stonycreek rivers, forming the Conemaugh River that flows westward through the Allegheny Mountains.
The 1889 Johnstown Flood, caused by the failure of the South Fork Dam on the Little Conemaugh River, killed 2,209 people and became one of the deadliest disasters in American history. The dam failure, traced to inadequate maintenance of the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club, unleashed a wall of water that destroyed much of Johnstown within hours. The Johnstown Flood National Memorial, operated by the National Park Service at the site of the former dam, commemorates the disaster. The city has experienced two subsequent major floods, in 1936 and 1977.
Steel production at Cambria Iron Company, later Bethlehem Steel, shaped the city's economic development from the 1850s through most of the twentieth century. Bethlehem Steel's Johnstown Works employed over 12,000 workers at its peak and remained a major employer until substantial closures in the 1980s and 1990s. The Johnstown Inclined Plane, opened in 1891, is the steepest vehicular inclined plane in the world and was built in part as an evacuation route after the 1889 flood.
Saint Francis University in nearby Loretto, the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown, and Mount Aloysius College serve the higher-education needs of the region. The Johnstown Symphony Orchestra has operated since 1929.
Through Escortservice.com, users can locate escort websites that operate in the Johnstown area. The site catalogs. Nothing beyond cataloging is offered, including no bookings, no vetting of advertisers, and no mediation. Only visitors who are at least 21 may use the directory.
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Johnstown is a city in Cambria County, in the Laurel Highlands of western Pennsylvania about 70 miles east of Pittsburgh. The population is approximately 18,200, down from a peak of roughly 67,000 in 1920. The city was founded in 1800 by Joseph Schantz (Johns) and was incorporated as a borough in 1831 and as a city in 1889. It sits at the confluence of the Little Conemaugh and Stonycreek rivers, forming the Conemaugh River that flows westward through the Allegheny Mountains.
The 1889 Johnstown Flood, caused by the failure of the South Fork Dam on the Little Conemaugh River, killed 2,209 people and became one of the deadliest disasters in American history. The dam failure, traced to inadequate maintenance of the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club, unleashed a wall of water that destroyed much of Johnstown within hours. The Johnstown Flood National Memorial, operated by the National Park Service at the site of the former dam, commemorates the disaster. The city has experienced two subsequent major floods, in 1936 and 1977.
Steel production at Cambria Iron Company, later Bethlehem Steel, shaped the city's economic development from the 1850s through most of the twentieth century. Bethlehem Steel's Johnstown Works employed over 12,000 workers at its peak and remained a major employer until substantial closures in the 1980s and 1990s. The Johnstown Inclined Plane, opened in 1891, is the steepest vehicular inclined plane in the world and was built in part as an evacuation route after the 1889 flood.
Saint Francis University in nearby Loretto, the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown, and Mount Aloysius College serve the higher-education needs of the region. The Johnstown Symphony Orchestra has operated since 1929.
Through Escortservice.com, users can locate escort websites that operate in the Johnstown area. The site catalogs. Nothing beyond cataloging is offered, including no bookings, no vetting of advertisers, and no mediation. Only visitors who are at least 21 may use the directory.
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