Chapter 8
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135
“five and dime” stores. By 1919, Frank
Woolworth ownedmore than 1,000 stores.
The Johnstown Flood
D
uring this time of rapid industrial
growth, the city of
Johnstown
suffered one of the greatest
disasters in American history. Johnstown
was our nation’s largest producer of iron
and steel rails. Meanwhile, 14 miles away,
the South ForkDamwas getting veryheavy
rains. In those days, dams were built from
soil and stones. It was built in the 1840s to
supply water to theMain Line Canal. After
canal travel faded away, the dam was not
properlymaintained.
OnMay 31, 1889, as a result of the heavy
rains, the lake that thedamheldat SouthFork
began tooverflow. Suddenly, at 3:10P.M., the
dam gave way. In 36 minutes, the lake
emptied into a narrow valley. A 40-foot wave
of water was speeding through the valley,
ripping apart everything in its path. (Measure
40 feet somewhere!) At 4:00 P. M., the huge,
powerful wave crashed into the city of
Johnstown. The town, factories, locomotives,
and people were smashed as if they were
little toys. In 10 minutes, Johnstown was
destroyed. Over 2,200 people were killed,
1,000 people were missing, and millions of
dollars in damagewere done.
Clara Barton
, founder of the American
RedCross, set upher first
disaster
center at
Johnstown. When something this bad
happens, it is called adisaster. Clara andher
group of workers helped to care for the
homeless and thewounded.
As you can see, our statehasmanyhistory
stories to tell.Wehave studied the1800s.We
have learned how our transport systems
improved. These improvements resulted in a
faster and cheaper flow of people and
products. Finally, we learned how the
natural resources of our state helped
Pennsylvania grow to be an industrial giant.
Now we are going to spend some time
learning about Pennsylvania in the 1900s.
ReviewQuestions
1. Describe how themining of coal became such a dangerous job?
2. What is a union?Whywere they organized?
3. What is a strike?
4. What happened to the cities of Pennsylvania during this time?
5. Name at least three new ideas that were started tomeet the needs of cityworkers.
6. What caused the Johnstown Flood?
7. Whywas the Johnstown Flood a sad story?
8. Whowas Clara Barton?
People and their homes were washed away
in Johnstownwhen the nearby South Fork
Dam gave way.
