Austin Flood Disaster

Austin Flood Disaster is a Pennsylvania historical marker in Potter County, dedicated 1994.

Potter County · dedicated 1994 · Rugaber St. (PA 872)

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On Sept. 30, 1911, the Bayless Pulp and Paper Co. dam broke here. This concrete dam, built 1909, was nearly fifty feet high; 534 feet long. Its failure sent torrents of water and debris down Freeman Run into Austin and Costello, causing great destruction and killing at least 78 people. This second worst single-dam disaster in Pennsylvania inspired legislation (1913) to regulate the construction of dams in the state.

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David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

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under a mile from where William Gabby lived in the 1760s

what this marker records spans 1777 to 1789, overlapping William Gabby's years here

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Marker data: Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission via data.pa.gov

Austin Flood Disaster

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