38 pages 1 hour read

David McCullough

The Johnstown Flood

Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 1968

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Chapters 1-3

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 1 Summary: The Sky Was Red

On the afternoon of May 30, 1889, the storm had begun to come in. The day before the flood was Memorial Day, and the town expected hundreds of visitors when the official summer season started for the city of Johnstown. Shortly after dark, John Parke Jr., who had been “employed by the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club as the so-called ‘resident engineer’” (19), stared out at the dark but, not sensing anything catastrophic, returned to his home and went to sleep.

The storm that was coming into the valley had begun days before to the west in Kansas and Nebraska, and on the morning of Memorial Day, and when the storm finally moved east far enough to hit Pennsylvania, “it was the worst downpour that had ever been recorded for that section of the country” (21). In some places on the mountain, up to 10 inches of rain had been recorded, even though just a few dozen miles west in Pittsburgh, sources recorded hardly more than an inch.

As was typical for the time of year, all the hotels in town were full and the bars fully patronized. Typical of the demographic, the city was full of “strapping steelworkers” (22) as the Cambria Iron Company ran day and night forging steel, the same as it had for decades.

Related Titles

By David McCullough

Plot Summary

logo

Brave Companions

David McCullough

Brave Companions

David McCullough

Plot Summary

logo

John Adams

David McCullough

John Adams

David McCullough

Plot Summary

logo

Mornings on Horseback

David McCullough

Mornings on Horseback

David McCullough

Plot Summary

logo

The Great Bridge

David McCullough

The Great Bridge

David McCullough

Plot Summary

logo

The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris

David McCullough

The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris

David McCullough

Plot Summary

logo

The Path Between the Seas

David McCullough

The Path Between the Seas

David McCullough

Study Guide

logo

The Pioneers

David McCullough

The Pioneers: The Heroic Story of the Settlers Who Brought the American Ideal West

David McCullough

Study Guide

logo

The Wright Brothers

David McCullough

The Wright Brothers

David McCullough

Study Guide

logo

Truman

David McCullough

Truman

David McCullough