Pontoon bridge across Conemaugh river, Johnstown Flood, May 31st, 1889 – Historic Print
(Originally scanned by the Library of Congress. Each image is professionally and digitally cleaned of artifacts such as color bars and extra borders prior to printing.)
Description
Step back in time with Pontoon bridge across Conemaugh river, Johnstown Flood, May 31st, 1889, a historic image rich in period detail. It comes from the collections of the Library of Congress, scanned from the original and carefully restored.
Framed, it is ready for the wall; unframed, it is ready for the frame you choose. A conversation-starting piece for home, office, or as a meaningful gift. Free shipping in the lower 48 states. Since 2001, Snapshots of the Past has shipped historic prints to tens of thousands of customers around the world.
Pontoon bridge across Conemaugh river, Johnstown Flood, May 31st, 1889
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A makeshift pontoon bridge spans the Conemaugh River in this view, one of the crossings improvised after the flood tore through Johnstown on May 31, 1889. That afternoon the South Fork Dam failed upstream, releasing a wall of water that swept through the valley towns, killed more than 2,000 people, and destroyed or buried many of the bridges in the city. Floating spans like this one allowed residents, rescue crews and supply wagons to cross the swollen river while permanent structures were cleared and rebuilt. The photograph is credited to Ernest Walter Histed (1862-1947).
| Created / published | 1889 |
|---|---|
| Subjects | Histed, Ernest Walter, 1862-1947, photographer. |
| Source | Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division |
| Original scan | 7,429 × 6,189 px · prints to 25 × 21 in at 300 dpi |
| Reference | 10 |
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