This article is about the dam failure in Austin, Pennsylvania, in 1911. For the dam failure in Texas in 1900, see Austin Dam failure (Texas).
The Austin Dam, also known as the Bayless Dam, was a concrete gravity dam in the Austin, Pennsylvania, area that served the Bayless Pulp and Paper Mill. Built in 1909, it was the largest dam of its type in Pennsylvania at the time. The catastrophic failure of the dam on September 30, 1911, caused significant destruction and loss of life in Freeman Run Valley below the dam.
In 1900, George Bayless, owner of Bayless Paper, built a paper mill in the Freeman Run Valley. By 1909, the company realized that occasional dry seasons required a more reliable water source. After finding a small earthen dam to be inadequate, the T. Chalkey Hatton firm was commissioned to build a large concretegravity dam across the valley. The dam was 50 feet (15 m) high and 540 feet (160 m) long, and cost $86,000 to construct.[1] It was designed to be 30 feet thick, but was built only 20 feet thick.[3] Because it was deemed too expensive, an underground vertical concrete slab, which had been designed to prevent water seeping under the dam through the soil on which the dam sat, was not built, on Bayless's orders. At the time, Pennsylvania had no state regulations or requirements about the building of dams.[4]
Flood-damaged homes
The inhabitants of the town of Austin, Pennsylvania, downstream from the dam, referred to it, with Bayless's encouragement, as "The dam that could not break."[4]
Within only a few months of its completion, problems were detected. Water was seeping under the dam,[4] which also bowed more than 36 feet (11 m) under the pressure of the water it was holding, and the concrete started cracking. The bowing was alleviated by using dynamite to blast a 13-foot (4.0 m) space for the excess water to spill over. The cracking was claimed to be normal because of the drying concrete.
On September 30, 1911, a holiday, after a week of rainstorms that raised the level of the reservoir to only 2 feet below the overflow level,[4] the dam failed. Part of the structure slid down about 50 feet (15 m), while another opened like a door, allowing the impounded water to flow freely down the narrow valley.[4] The wall of water destroyed the paper mill and much of the town of Austin, which was so deeply covered by water in places that only church steeples could be seen. Due to the slope of the valley, the east side of the town received more damage.[4]
Around 3,000 people were in Austin that day, and the catastrophic failure of the dam resulted in the deaths of 78 of them,[4] and roughly $10 million in property damage. The madam of the town's brothel, which was located upstream of the town, saw the failure coming and warned the town, saving many lives.[4] The paper mill and dam were subsequently rebuilt, but the mill was lost in a fire in 1933. A new dam was built, but it also failed, in 1942, with no loss of life. The dam was not replaced after the second failure.
LegacyEdit
The victims of the dam break are commemorated in the Austin Dam Memorial Park.[4]
The remains of the failed first dam still stand.[4] The ruins consist of a series of broken sections extending east-west across the Freeman Run Valley - five upright sections and two large and several smaller toppled sections.[5] The site was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.[2]
In popular cultureEdit
A documentary about the dam disaster, featuring narration by Willie Nelson, was created by Mansfield University of Pennsylvania professor Gale Largey in 1999. It includes interviews with five survivors along with original newsreel footage.[6]
An earlier documentary about the dam failure, simply titled Austin Flood, was filmed likely on the very next day by the Thanhouser Company, and released as early as October 6, 1911; it consisted in 750 feet of film, showing “the suffering, horror and devastation wrought by the flood”.[7]
ReferencesEdit
^ abcdefWise, Eric (September 2005). (PDF). Penn Lines. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania Rural Electric Association. 40 (9): 8–11. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-12-19. Retrieved 2009-09-19.
^"Flaws in Austin Dam. Only Twenty Feet Thick, Though Plans Called for Thirty". The New York Times. October 31, 1911. Retrieved 2010-11-07. The recent disaster at Austin. Penn., resulted from alleged failure to carry out the original plans for the construction of the dam, according to a statement given out to-day by the State Conservation Commission.
^ abcdefghij"Factory of Death" (January 14, 2021) Mysteries of the Abandoned (season 7, episode 5) Science Channel
^. CRGIS: Cultural Resources Geographic Information System. Archived from the original (Searchable database) on 2007-07-21. Retrieved 2012-12-30. Note: This includes Robert K. Curren and William Sisson (October 1986). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Austin Dam" (PDF). Retrieved 2012-05-30.
^Largey, Gale. "The Austin Disaster 1911: A Chronicle of Human Character". Retrieved 2009-10-30.
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This article is about the dam failure in Austin Pennsylvania in 1911 For the dam failure in Texas in 1900 see Austin Dam failure Texas The Austin Dam also known as the Bayless Dam was a concrete gravity dam in the Austin Pennsylvania area that served the Bayless Pulp and Paper Mill Built in 1909 it was the largest dam of its type in Pennsylvania at the time The catastrophic failure of the dam on September 30 1911 caused significant destruction and loss of life in Freeman Run Valley below the dam Austin DamRemnants of Austin Dam in 2008LocationKeating Township Potter County near Austin PennsylvaniaOpening dateDecember 1909 1 Demolition dateSeptember 30 1911 1 Operator s Bayless Pulp amp Paper CompanyDam and spillwaysImpoundsFreeman RunHeight50 feet 15 m 1 Length540 feet 160 m 1 ReservoirCreatesAustin Dam PoolTotal capacity200 000 000 US gallons 760 000 000 L 1 Austin DamU S National Register of Historic PlacesSchool house after dam disasterShow map of PennsylvaniaShow map of the United StatesLocationPA 872 Austin PennsylvaniaCoordinates41 39 11 N 78 5 8 W 41 65306 N 78 08556 W 41 65306 78 08556Area1 3 acres 0 53 ha Built1911Built byHatton T ChalkeyNRHP reference No 86003570 2 Added to NRHPJanuary 15 1987 Contents 1 History 2 Legacy 3 In popular culture 4 References 5 External linksHistory EditIn 1900 George Bayless owner of Bayless Paper built a paper mill in the Freeman Run Valley By 1909 the company realized that occasional dry seasons required a more reliable water source After finding a small earthen dam to be inadequate the T Chalkey Hatton firm was commissioned to build a large concrete gravity dam across the valley The dam was 50 feet 15 m high and 540 feet 160 m long and cost 86 000 to construct 1 It was designed to be 30 feet thick but was built only 20 feet thick 3 Because it was deemed too expensive an underground vertical concrete slab which had been designed to prevent water seeping under the dam through the soil on which the dam sat was not built on Bayless s orders At the time Pennsylvania had no state regulations or requirements about the building of dams 4 nbsp Flood damaged homes The inhabitants of the town of Austin Pennsylvania downstream from the dam referred to it with Bayless s encouragement as The dam that could not break 4 Within only a few months of its completion problems were detected Water was seeping under the dam 4 which also bowed more than 36 feet 11 m under the pressure of the water it was holding and the concrete started cracking The bowing was alleviated by using dynamite to blast a 13 foot 4 0 m space for the excess water to spill over The cracking was claimed to be normal because of the drying concrete On September 30 1911 a holiday after a week of rainstorms that raised the level of the reservoir to only 2 feet below the overflow level 4 the dam failed Part of the structure slid down about 50 feet 15 m while another opened like a door allowing the impounded water to flow freely down the narrow valley 4 The wall of water destroyed the paper mill and much of the town of Austin which was so deeply covered by water in places that only church steeples could be seen Due to the slope of the valley the east side of the town received more damage 4 Around 3 000 people were in Austin that day and the catastrophic failure of the dam resulted in the deaths of 78 of them 4 and roughly 10 million in property damage The madam of the town s brothel which was located upstream of the town saw the failure coming and warned the town saving many lives 4 The paper mill and dam were subsequently rebuilt but the mill was lost in a fire in 1933 A new dam was built but it also failed in 1942 with no loss of life The dam was not replaced after the second failure Legacy EditThe victims of the dam break are commemorated in the Austin Dam Memorial Park 4 The remains of the failed first dam still stand 4 The ruins consist of a series of broken sections extending east west across the Freeman Run Valley five upright sections and two large and several smaller toppled sections 5 The site was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1987 2 In popular culture EditA documentary about the dam disaster featuring narration by Willie Nelson was created by Mansfield University of Pennsylvania professor Gale Largey in 1999 It includes interviews with five survivors along with original newsreel footage 6 An earlier documentary about the dam failure simply titled Austin Flood was filmed likely on the very next day by the Thanhouser Company and released as early as October 6 1911 it consisted in 750 feet of film showing the suffering horror and devastation wrought by the flood 7 References Edit a b c d e f Wise Eric September 2005 The Day Austin Died PDF Penn Lines Harrisburg Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Rural Electric Association 40 9 8 11 Archived from the original PDF on 2010 12 19 Retrieved 2009 09 19 a b National Register Information System National Register of Historic Places National Park Service July 9 2010 Flaws in Austin Dam Only Twenty Feet Thick Though Plans Called for Thirty The New York Times October 31 1911 Retrieved 2010 11 07 The recent disaster at Austin Penn resulted from alleged failure to carry out the original plans for the construction of the dam according to a statement given out to day by the State Conservation Commission a b c d e f g h i j Factory of Death January 14 2021 Mysteries of the Abandoned season 7 episode 5 Science Channel National Historic Landmarks amp National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania CRGIS Cultural Resources Geographic Information System Archived from the original Searchable database on 2007 07 21 Retrieved 2012 12 30 Note This includes Robert K Curren and William Sisson October 1986 National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form Austin Dam PDF Retrieved 2012 05 30 Largey Gale The Austin Disaster 1911 A Chronicle of Human Character Retrieved 2009 10 30 Bowers Q David Volume 2 Filmography Austin Flood Retrieved 2023 04 03 External links Edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Austin Dam Austin Bayless Dam failure case study at the Association of State Dam Safety Officials Austin Dam failure from the Library of Congress at Flickr Commons Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Austin Dam failure Pennsylvania amp oldid 1175723981, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
