Who owned the dam that caused the Johnstown flood?

1879-Reilly sold the dam to Benjamin Ruff, who bought it in the name of the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club of Pittsburgh. The Club inadequately patched the holes from the 1862 break; never replaced the sluice pipes; lowered the top of the dam to make it wider for carriages; and put fish screens over the spillway.



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“Even if extremely high lake inflows had continued unabated, overtopping of the dam at its original design height would have been averted for around 14 hours,” Coleman wrote.

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The South Fork Dam in 1853 and 1881. The South Fork Dam when it was completed by the state of Pennsylvania for the canal system. The South Fork Dam in 1881 after it was rebuilt by the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club.

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The worst dam failure in the United States was the Johnstown flood of 1889. The failure of the South Fork Dam, which affected Johnstown, is currently regarded as the worst dam failure in U.S. history.

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