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20-745: The dam was built by the Manufacturers Water Company to supply water for the Cambria Iron Company 's works in Johnstown, Pennsylvania . Construction began in 1910 and was completed in 1913, creating a reservoir that is roughly five miles long and two miles wide at its widest place, which drains into the Stonycreek River and thence into the Kiski-Conemaugh system. The reservoir reportedly covers

40-525: A large scale. The company's innovations, methods, and processes were widely influential throughout the steel industry. The company was at its height in the 1870s, under the long-term leadership of general manager Daniel Johnson Morrell , who had overseen the expansion of the works into one of the largest producers of rails in the United States. He helped to end US dependence on British railroad construction imports. A Republican, Morrell also served as

60-515: A larger scale. The company grew rapidly and by the 1870s, was a leading producer of steel and an innovator in the advancement of steelmaking technology. It performed early experiments with the Kelly converter, built the first blooming mill , and was one of the first plants to use hydraulics for the movement of ingots. It built one of the first plants to use the Bessemer process for making steel at

80-462: A member of the 40th United States Congress and 41st United States Congresses from Pennsylvania, from 1867-1871. Morrell became concerned about the South Fork Dam , which formed Lake Conemaugh above Johnstown and Cambria Iron Company's facilities. To monitor the dam, Morrell joined South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club , which owned the dam. Morrell campaigned to club officials to improve

100-495: The National Historic Landmark District designated in 1989. The Cambria Iron Company was founded in 1852 to provide iron for the construction of railroads . In 1854, the iron works, which had gone out of the blast, were purchased by a group of Philadelphia merchants led by Matthew Newkirk . After a fire destroyed the main rolling mill in 1857, Newkirk persuaded his co-investors to rebuild it on

120-529: The U.S. Department of the Interior . Once designated an NNL District, districts often become cultural destinations and generate economic benefits for the communities from history-related tourism. NHLDs often qualify for preservation grant monies but dramatic or negative change to them can impact their integrity and create cause for concern over the loss of NHLD designation. These threats can come from development or climate change as evidenced most recently with

140-536: The American Indian village of Kickenapauling's Town , which was referred to in records of Christopher Gist , as well as in the 10 June 1779 deed of Joseph Johns, after whom Johnstown was named. It is one of the largest artificial bodies of water in Pennsylvania, and is known as a stopover for migratory waterfowl, including geese, swans, and herons. In April 1917, a special police force was stationed at

160-636: The Cambria Company include the following (with variations in attribution). All have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP): National Historic Landmark District A National Historic Landmark District (NHLD) is a geographical area that has received recognition from the United States Government that the buildings, landscapes, cultural features and archaeological resources within it are of

180-525: The Cambria Iron Company's facilities along the rivers. The company reopened one week later, but at reduced capacity, and it was eclipsed by other producers as it rebuilt. After Morrell's death, his club membership was purchased by Cyrus Elder, who became the club's only Johnstown native; most of the men were from Pittsburgh. Elder was a former news editor who had become chief legal counsel for Cambria Iron Company. His wife and daughter died in

200-619: The Hickston Run and Quemahoning reservoirs as "a precaution against possible plots to cripple the great Cambria Steel Company's plant" during World War I , according to area newspapers. The dam and reservoir were sold by Bethlehem Steel Corporation (successor to Cambria Iron) to the Cambria Somerset Authority in 2000, which now operates it both for recreation and industrial water supply. The original sixty-six-inch pipeline built by Manufacturers Water Company from

220-565: The dam, which he had inspected by his own engineers and by those of the Pennsylvania Railroad . Morrell offered to effect repairs, partially at his own expense, but was rejected by club president Benjamin F. Ruff. Morell died in 1885, his warnings unheeded. On May 31, 1889, the dam failed, unleashing the Johnstown Flood . The flood killed more than 2,200 people—then the largest disaster in U.S. history—and badly damaged

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240-658: The firm are listed on the National Register of Historic Places . The industrial facilities of the Cambria occupied five separate sites in and around Johnstown, Pennsylvania . Its earliest facilities, known as the Lower Works, are located on the east bank of the Conemaugh River, north of downtown Johnstown and the Little Conemaugh River. The Gautier Plant is northeast of downtown Johnstown on

260-619: The flood. He continued to be a notable civic leader. He also wrote books and poetry. In 1916, Cambria Iron was acquired by Midvale Steel and Ordnance Company . Midvale sold the company to Bethlehem Steel in 1923., It operated continuously until 1992. Cambria Steel Company had formed a proprietary subsidiary shipping company called Franklin Steamship Company of Cleveland in 1906 and Beaver Steamship Company in 1916. Both companies were sold to Bethlehem Steamship Company in 1924. Infrastructure whose parts were manufactured by

280-545: The highest significance and worthy of preservation. The boundaries of an NHLD typically include contributing properties that may themselves be listed distinctly as a National Historic Landmark or on the National Register of Historic Places but may also include non-contributing properties. The U.S. federal government designates historic districts through the National Park Service , a division of

300-537: The reservoir to Johnstown was subsequently upgraded and refurbished after the sale to the Cambria Somerset Authority. Additionally, Somerset Borough, Pennsylvania has since commenced construction of a pipeline from the reservoir to the borough to provide potable water. Fishing, boating, camping and occasional whitewater rafting are among the recreational activities available. Upgraded release valves in 2010 substantially increased discharges from

320-549: The reservoir to improve whitewater rafting on the Stonycreek River. Bethlehem Steel Corporation ran a gun club, a farm house and Bethco Pines, a recreational park for its staff. The park included boating, swimming and facilities which employed a number of people. The dissolution of the Bethlehem Steel Corporation in the 1990s caused the recreation areas and reservoir to be put up for sale, and

340-628: The south side of the Little Conemaugh. Further up that river is the extensive Franklin Plant and Wheel Plant, while the Rod and Wire Plant is located on the west side of the Conemaugh River, north of the Lower Works. Each of these facilities represents a different phase of development and growth of the steel industry. The Lower Works no longer has significant traces of the earliest facilities used in steel manufacturing. All five of these areas comprise

360-431: The summer for two week intervals. Cambria Iron Company The Cambria Iron Company of Johnstown, Pennsylvania , was a major producer of iron and steel that operated independently from 1852 to 1916. The company adopted many innovations in the steelmaking process, including those of William Kelly and Henry Bessemer . Founded in 1852, the company became the nation's largest steel foundry within two decades. It

380-551: Was included in the sale to a coalition of local governments. Summer's Best Two Weeks (SB2W) operates portions of the former Bethco Pines recreational park located on a section of the Reservoir. The Camp is affiliated with SB2W on Lake Gloria which is approximately 5 miles away from the one on the Quemahoning Reservoir. Summer's Best Two Weeks is a Christian sports resident camp that hosts hundreds of campers during

400-605: Was reorganized and renamed the Cambria Steel Company in 1898, purchased by Midvale Steel and Ordnance Company in 1916, and sold to the Bethlehem Steel Company in 1923. The company's facilities, which extend some 12 miles (19 km) along the Conemaugh and Little Conemaugh rivers, operated until 1992. Today, they are designated as a National Historic Landmark District . Several works by

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