Johnstown Flood NM - Saint Michael, PA

Friday, October 20, 2017

Still on the Country Roads Shop Hop, since the last post at the Gallitzin State Forest District, we got another quilt shop in after a two-mile detour due to a wrong turn in Ebensburg. Alas, we visited the quaint quilt shop which was the best one of the tour thus far. It was in a large country-style mini mall and after visiting the quilt shop, we visited a chocolate shop further down the plaza (not my choice.)

Lake View Visitor Center

Anyway, we found out at Allegheny Portage Railroad NHS that the Staple Bend Tunnel Unit of that park about six or so miles from Johnstown Flood NM and we can connect to the two quilt shops in the Richland section of Johnstown. We arrive at the center, made pleasantries with the ranger on staff and did the stamp thing. We, like the Fort Raleigh NHS visit in the midst of Tropical Storm Julia last year are the sole visitors at this park, the ranger consistently reminds us that the film will be starting at 3:15, however, I was here on an educational trip when I went to trade school here about a decade or so ago and watched the film then, and two we wanted to be back in Fayettenam by dark, we ignored him politely. We browse the wide array of bookstore items for purchase and he says "did you leave your passport on the counter?", I turn around quickly and notice that I did leave the passport on the counter and thank him kindly for reminding me for who knows what I would have done if I have left it there,

Lake View House

We explore the waysides and exhibits upstairs and take the elevator to the lower level and use the comfort facilities there as I remembered they were there at my trip with the trade school a decade ago, as there is no signage on the upper level stating such, After using the facilities, we go out on the walkway that is accessible to the public there, photograph the views, the three waysides and the Unger House and return inside to hear over the public address system " Attention Park Visitors, the film will be shown in ten minutes in the theatre." SERIOUSLY, we have to go back past him, so we hop back on the elevator as we are nearing our day, which I have to say, this elevator is nearing the end of its useful life, if I may say so myself. We return to the upper level of the Visitor Center, take a photo or two, grab some literature and exit. As we are walking up the walkway to the parking area, a group of seniors enter the Visitor Center, WHEW! We plan next to head 1-1.2 Miles back down the hill to the historic district in Saint Michael Proper.

Park Synopsis

The South Fork dam failed on Friday, May 31, 1889 and unleashed 20,000,000 tons of water that devastated Johnstown, PA.  The flood killed 2,209 people but it brought the nation and the world together to aid the "Johnstown sufferers."  The story of the Johnstown Flood reminds us all, "...that we must leave nothing undone for the preservation and protection of our brother men."

In 2016, the Visitor Center and the area around it took on a whole "new" name: The Lake View Visitor Center. Visitors will notice three buildings at the Visitor Center location: the Visitor Center; the Unger House, home of Colonel Elias J. Unger the second and last president of the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club; and the Springhouse. For years, the area had been referred to as the Unger farm and/or the Unger house. However, in the winter of 2016, park staff, reasearching The Pittsburgh Bulletin, a society newspaper in Pittsburgh from the days of the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club, discovered that the area was referred to by the club as the Lake View Farm and Lake View House since, at the time, it would have overlooked Lake Conemaugh, with this new information in mind the area is now known as the Lake View Visitor Center and the Lake View House. 

If You Go

The Johnstown Flood National Memorial is located in South Fork, Cambria County, PA at the site of the South Fork Dam. A visit to the Johnstown Flood National Memorial allows the visitor to take in the scope and size of the disaster, to see the ruins of the South Fork Dam, and to formulate their own conclusions as to who or what exactly was responsible for the destruction of the South Fork Dam.

We recommend that you begin your visit at the Lake View Visitor Center. There you can view the exhibits and the award winning film. Follow up with a stroll around the pathways outside of the visitor center where wayside exhibit panels use text and pictures to help you envision the area as it was in 1889. You will also wish to visit the remains of the dam, a short walk on an accessible trail, you will need to drive to the trailhead due to safety concerns.

Allow one to two hours for your visit. The park film lasts 35 minutes. In the summer a van tour can guide you around the edges of the former Lake Conemaugh including stops at the The South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club Clubhouse and both dam abutments. Rangers often share new research and uncovered photographs during this special one hour tour.

During the spring, summer, and fall, the Johnstown Flood National Memorial Visitor Center is open 7 days a week from 9:00 am-5:00 pm daily. During the winter, the Visitor Center may have reduced hours. Park grounds and trails are always open 7 days a week, 365 days a year, from sunrise to sunset.

Accessibility

One wheelchair is available for loan at the visitor center, free of charge and the visitor center is universally accessible. The Unger House is closed on a normal basis but the basement level may be open during special ranger and it is accessible. Accessible comfort facilities are located in the visitor center, and at the picnic area, which is located outside of Saint Michael off of State Route 869 near the US 219 interchange. For the deaf or hard of hearing, the Lake View Visitor Center film, "Black Friday," has closed captions.