SHOW / EPISODE

The Johnstown Flood: The Dam That Drowned a City

13m | Oct 29, 2026

A private dam above a wealthy mountain club gave way in 1889, and a wall of water the size of a city block came down the valley at forty miles an hour. It hit the steel town of Johnstown, Pennsylvania with the force of Niagara, killing more than two thousand people in minutes and piling the dead against a bridge that then caught fire.

In this episode of Six Feet of History, August Mercer tells the story of the neglected dam, the millionaires' club above the town, the flood itself, and the reckoning that followed. Six Feet of History is a daily true history podcast digging up the dark, forgotten, and untold stories of the past. New episode every day.

#history #truehistory #historypodcast #darkhistory #forgottenhistory #JohnstownFlood #Pennsylvania #disaster #americanhistory #untoldhistory

Johnstown Flood, dam that drowned a city, 1889 Pennsylvania disaster, South Fork dam failure, 2209 dead, flood disaster, history podcast, true history, forgotten disasters, dark history, untold history, American history, South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club, Conemaugh, stone bridge fire, dam break, Gilded Age, Carnegie Frick, flood of 1889, Six Feet of History


Paused
Audio Player Image
Six Feet of History – Dark History in 5 Minutes
Loading...