SE, esp. Pittsburgh, Johnstown –108-142

lornajarrettblanchard March 17, 1936

Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 11-23-2024 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/

108-142 Blanchard.

We choose to employ a range given our uncertainty with the accuracy of the county breakouts we show below after the locality breakouts. For the low end of our range we use the 108 deaths reported by the United Press and the International News Service as noted in the Chester Times, PA, of March 24. For the high end of our death toll range we show 142 which is the total we derive from newspaper accounts noting deaths by locality.

— >150 UP. “Flood Death Toll Now is 150…” Daily News, Huntington, PA. 3-18-20, 1936, 1.[1]

— 142 Blanchard tally based on county breakouts following locality breakout.

— 108 Known deaths, many missing. UP and INS. “Officials Set Deaths in Flood States at 174.”[2]

— >100 Kiner. “‘Tremendous damage’: The St. Patrick’s Day flood of 1936 devastated Pa.” 2021

— ~100 Gelber, Ben. The Pennsylvania Weather Book. 2002, p. 198.

— 99 AP. “Pennsylvania Heads Flood Fatality List.” Bradford Era, PA. 3-21-1936, p.1.

— 69 Western PA. AP. “West PA. Deaths Report Now 69.” Indiana Evening Gazette, PA. 3-20-1936, p. 1.

–40-50 by Mar 18. UP. “Tremendous Loss as 3 Rivers Rise.” Monessen Daily Independent, PA. 3-18-1936, p.1.

— 42 Assoc. Press. “Fire, Hunger Add to Flood Terror…” Record-Argus, Greenville, PA. 3-19-1936, p.1.

— 30 Morning Herald, Uniontown, PA. “Rescue Supplies Rushed To Stricken Johnstown…” 3-19-1936, p. 1.

— 29 East-central PA. AP. Flood Waters Recede; Leave Tragic Scenes.” Bradford Era, PA. 3-21-1936, p. 1.

Breakouts:

— 43 Allegheny County.[3] (Allegheny, Monongahela and Ohio Rivers)

— 3 Coraopolis (Blanchard tally from date breakouts)

–1 By March 18. Ralph Keefer.[4]

–2 Married couple swept from home in lower section of town and drowned.[5]

— 6 Etna, Union St. Nut and bolt factory explosion, house burns, Mrs. Mary Vulakovich and children.[6]

— 1 McKeesport. Drowning; boat overturned; patrolman John Sellman in rescue attempt.[7]

–45 Pittsburgh. AP. “West PA. Deaths Report Now 68.” Indiana Evening Gazette, PA. 3-20-1936, p. 1.

–31 Pittsburgh. UP/INS. “Officials Set Deaths in Flood States at 174.” Chester Times, PA. 3-24-1936, 2.

— 8 Pittsburgh metropolitan area, March 19.[8]

–2 Pittsburgh by March 18. Two unidentified men.[9]

–6 Pittsburgh, March 19.[10]

–2 area, March 19, Ohio Riv. Drowning; houseboat dweller and wife.[11]

— 1 Sharpsburg area. Drowning.[12]

— 1 West Elizabeth, 18^th or 19^th. Farmer Cristopher or Christian Braun, 55.[13]

— 1 Beaver, Beaver County. Landslide into water (Ohio?) upsets boat; Tony Salmont, boy.[14]

— 1 Bellefonte, Centre County, by March 18. Charles Emenhizer, 51.[15]

— 1 Blairsville, Indiana County. Exposure and shock; Elmer Leasure, 65, during rescue.[16]

— 2 Boynton, Somerset County, March 18.[17]

— 1 Clearfield, Clearfield County, by March 18. Edward Leitzinger.[18]

— 1 Connellsville, Fayette County, by March 18. Harry Landymore.[19]

— 2 Cresson, Cambria County, March 18. Drownings; Faber Eckenrode and Lewis Anamar.[20]

— 1 Dubois, Clearfield County. Explosion during gas line repair kills Donna Jean Beard, 7.[21]

— 3 Granville, Mifflin County, March 19. Drownings; farmers rescuing cattle; boat upset.[22]

— 2 Greensburg, Westmoreland County, by March 19.[23]

— 1 Hooversville, Somerset Co. March 18. Drowning; rescue boat capsizes; Mrs. Sechler.[24]

— 1 Huff, Indiana County. Exposure; died in Greensburg hospital after rescue from tree.[25]

— 4 Huntingdon, Huntington County, Juniata River.[26]

–30-35 Johnstown.[27] Next article below this one notes “At least 30 dead” in all of PA. Not credible.

— 25 Johnstown. Kozlovac. Adventures in Flood Control: The Johnstown [PA] Story, 1995.[28]

— 24 “About two dozen.” Johnstown Flood Museum. “More about the 1936 and 1977 disasters.”

— 21 Johnstown. UP/INS. “Officials Set Deaths in Flood States at 174.” Chester Times, PA. 3-24-1936, p. 2.

— 15 Johnstown. AP. “West PA. Deaths Report Now 69.” Indiana Evening Gazette, PA. 3-20-1936, p1.

–4 Johnstown, Cambria County, Conemaugh River. Bodies recovered as of March 19.[29]

–1 By March 18, Russell Bellsda, 18.[30] Or Harry Belind of Beaverdale.[31]

–1 March 18. Drowned trying to rescue father and mother; Dan Gallagher, 37.[32]

–1 Unidentified person. Chester Times, PA. “3 Known Dead in Johnstown Flood…” 3-18-1936, p. 2.

–1 March 19. Drowning; commercial photographer F. W. Buchanan, 60; lost grip on rope.[33]

–1 Heart attack upon hearing false report of Quemahoning dam failure; Mrs. Laura Clark, 82.[34]

–1 Suicide after lsing home; Samuel Isaacson, 55.[35]

— 2 Petersburg. Huntingdon County Mar 18. Floyd Haun, 21 and George Bell, 20, in rescue attempt.[36]

— 1 Philadelphia area, Delaware River, few miles upstream of Philly; man.[37]

— 1 Pottsville, Schuylkill Co., Mar 18. Short circuit resulting from high water; Joseph Haggerty, 51.[38]

— 4 Rossiter, Indiana County by March 18. Russell Saye, 35, his wife and two daughters.[39]

— 50 Susquehanna River drainage area, central PA. (Some of the towns below are in this area.)

— 3 Harrisburg, Dauphin County.[40]

— 1 Herndon, Northumberland Co., Mar 18. Drowned, Susquehanna Riv. Donald Smith, 19.[41]

— 6 Lock Haven area, Clinton County, drownings by March 18.[42]

— 1 Milton, Northumberland County. Drowning in concrete pit; Charles Haupt, 52.[43]

— 6 Sunbury, Northumberland County.[44]

–21 Wilkes-Barre, Luzerne County.[45]

–2 Wilkes-Barre area, March 20. Men trying to get to cattle to feed.[46]

— 5 Williamsport, Lycoming County.

–1 Drowning; Ray Straub.[47]

— 1 Tyrone main street, Blair County. Drowning; unidentified man.[48] Alex Steele?[49]

— 1 Vandergrift, Westmoreland County, by March 18. Unidentified boy.[50]

Summary of Fatalities Listed by County

–45 Allegheny — 6 Clinton — 5 Lycoming — 3 Westmoreland

— 1 Beaver — 3 Dauphin — 3 Mifflin 142

— 1 Blair — 1 Fayette — 8 Northumberland

–25 Cambria — 6 Huntingdon — 1 Philadelphia

— 1 Centre — 6 Indiana — 1 Schuylkill

— 2 Clearfield –21 Luzerne — 3 Somerset

Narrative Information

Gelber: “March 17-20, 1936: St. Patrick’s Day Floods

“The cold, snowy winter of 1935-36 brought a heavy accumulation of snow in January and February, which coupled with periods of intensely cold weather. The snowpack began to recede by late February and early March, though a considerable quantity of snow remained over the northern mountains of Pennsylvania. A series of heavy rainstorms falling on mostly frozen ground during the middle of March combined with melting snow over the higher elevations to bring serious flooding to much of Pennsylvania and the Ohio Valley.

“A wet weather pattern developed over Pennsylvania on March 9-10, with heavier rain falling on the eleventh and twelfth. A heavy winter snowfall left a considerable quantity of snow in the higher elevations, which combined with a steady rain to produce a heavy runoff.. Ice jams developed along many Pennsylvania rivers, compounding flooding in lowland areas….

“Light rain commenced again in western Pennsylvania on March 15-16, which became locally heavy statewide on the seventeenth and eighteenth and continued intermittently to the twentieth….

“Rivers were already running high in Pennsylvania from constant rains and melting snow, which had caused minor flooding a week earlier. There was no room in the soils and waterways for additionally heavy rains that came on March 16-17, 1936….

“Floodwaters in downtown Pittsburgh crested at an all-time record level of 46 feet at 7:00 p.m., on March 18, 1936, which was 21 feet above flood stage, and 7.5 feet above the previous high water mark on March 15, 1907. Fifteen feet of water covered the Triangle, forcing thousands to flee for their lives….

“Stephan Lorant (1964, 354-355) reported that 3,000 residents were injured and more than 100,000 lost their homes in the Pittsburgh area alone…. Sixty-seven persons were confirmed dead in Pittsburgh, another twenty-two in Johnstown, and many others reported missing were almost certainly lost in the flood, which conservatively put loss of life in Pennsylvania at ‘upwards of 100’.” (Gelber, Ben. The Pennsylvania Weather Book. 2002, pp. 197-198.)

Newspapers

March 17, Clearfield Progress, PA: “Flood warnings were broadcast here at an early hour this afternoon when the raging waters in the river, swollen to the highest level in nearly 20 years, approached within six inches of the 15-foot flood stage. With the rain still pouring down heavily at 1:30 o’clock it was apparent that the water would raise higher than the water would raise higher than the 15-foot mark with serious danger that even the main section of town may be inundated.

“A survey of conditions in this immediate vicinity at 1:30 o’clock this afternoon disclosed the water had left the river banks at more than a dozen places, inundated scores of houses and threatened to close the highway between here and Curwensville…. (p.1.)

“LOCK HAVEN, PA. March 17. – (AP) – The Susquehanna River and Bald Eagle Creek, fed by steady rains, climbed at a rate of three to four inches an hour today. The river rose 5.4 feet in 24 hours to 15.2 feet, observers said, but it was still six feet below the stage of last week’s flood. Bald Eagle Creek went out of its banks, and flooded fields southeast of the city but no damage was reported.”

“PUNXSUTRAWNEY, PA., Mar. 17. – (AP) – The worst flood in 24 years inundated Punxsutawney streets today. Little Mahoning Creek in Indiana County, flooded lowland areas. The Big Mahoning Creek was rising in Punxsutawney. Residents said the flood was the most serious since the Big Mahoning overflowed in 1912.” (p.5.)

“McCLELLANDTOWN, Pa., Mar. 17 – (AP) – Nearly 300 miners waded out of a coal mine today with water swirling around their waists after a flooded creek inundated the pit. Foremen shouted warnings to the men as the water rose rapidly and poured into the shaft. The workers struggled up a330-foot slope to the opening. The mine is known as the Puritan No. 2. Officials said all of the men were accounted for.

“JOHNSTOWN, PA., Mar. 17 – (AP) – Henry Belind, 18, of nearby Beaverdale, drowned in flooded Beaver Creek today. He was carried down stream in eight feet of water after a bridge collapsed.

….

“PORTAGE, PA., March 17. – (AP) – Flood waters from Trout Run washed away small buildings and inundated the business district of this Cambria County town today, the first time in 25 years. At nearby Barnesboro, the West Branch of the Susquehanna River overflowed and surrounded portable school houses. Children were carried from the classrooms in boats.

….

(By The Associated Press)

“Steady rain sent Pennsylvania’s rivers and creeks surging upward again today, bringing new threats to districts not yet recovered from last week’s floods and extending the danger into territory previously unscathed. Heavy snowfall, ranging up to nine inches in northwest Pennsylvania, added to the torrents of water pouring into the Allegheny-Monongahela watershed. Weather observers at Pittsburgh, where the two rivers join to form the Ohio, predicted the worst flood in 12 years.

“Heavy rains along the upper part of the Susquehanna River, still swollen from the floods of last week, sent the river past flood stage at Towanda today. Wilkes-Barre, scarcely started on the cleanup, braced for a new rush of waters. Bloomsburg and Lewisburg likewise feared new floods. Creeks near Bloomsburg overflowed. The Susquehanna washed out a retaining wall at the rear of five Milton homes and continued mounting at the rate of seven inches an hour. At Dunbar, in Fayette County, eight families fled from their homes after flood waters from the raging Monongahela poured into the living rooms.

“The rising Allegheny threatened to flood Ford City…The Lincoln Highway was closed at Ligonier and Greensburg by flood waters from nearby creeks….” (Clearfield Progress, PA. “River Sets New High Flood Mark For Year. Steady Rainfall at Noon is Indication of Trouble Looming.” 3-17-1936, p. 1.)

March 17, AP: “RIDGWAY, March 17. – (AP) – Fifty families fled their homes today as Clarion river overflowed its bans in what rivermen described as the city’s worst flood since 1889. The water inundated streets, forced the closing of several factories and caused damage estimated by city officials at thousands of dollars.

“KITTANNING, March 17. – (AP) – The Allegheny river overflowed here tonight and covered Water street by two feet, while roads to Indiana, Rural Valley and New Bethlehem were closed by floods and slides. Merchants spent the night moving goods in expectation of further damage..

“DUBOIS, March 17. – (AP) – Trucks fought their way through two miles of steadily rising flood waters tonight, carrying boats from Lake Sabula to rescue 500 persons marooned in ‘the flat.’ Churches were opened to provide shelter for refugees from surging streams. Three feet of water covered the main highways.

“HUNTINGDON, March 17. – (AP) – Seventy-five families fled their homes at nearby Portstown tonight after flood water from the Juniata river crept to their doorsteps. Four feet of water covered the William Penn highway. A number of families also vacated their homes at Smithfield. All roads into Huntingdon were closed….” (Associated Press. “Brief Paragraphs on Flood Situation.” Titusville Herald, PA. 3-18-1936, p. 1.)

March 18, UP: “PITTSBURGH, March 18. – Fifty blocks of Pittsburgh were inundated completely today by the Ohio River and its tributaries, the Monongahela and Allegheny. The most seriously affected district was the Golden Triangle, formed at the Point where the Monongahela and Allegheny join to made the Ohio. Water stood as deep as 18 feet at the Triangle and the damage there was estimated at at least $10,000,000. Other estimates including the entire city set the damage as high as $100,000,000….The flood was expected to reach the crest between three and four o’clock this afternoon. Ordinary business was paralyzed….

McKeesport Inundated

“Raging rivers today flooded Pittsburgh, Johnstown and countless small cities throughout the state, causing millions of dollars worth of damage and taking uncounted lives. Deaths may mount to 40 or 50. At mid-day, the situation in the East’s most disastrous flood in years, was in brief:

“JOHNSTOWN – Telephone company at Philadelphia advised that breaking of a dam near Johnstown flooded parts of Johnstown to a 30-foot depth…

“PITTSBURGH – Two serious fires broke out in the nation’s steel center as the Ohio river and its two mighty tributaries flooded the Golden Triangle, chief center of the big steel and financial interests I Pittsburgh…

“MCKEESPORT – Much of the city under water

“WILKES-BARRE – 600 families evacuated and overflowing Susquehanna turned Wyoming Valley into a vast lake….

Johnstown Is Flooded

“JOHNSTOWN, March 18 – Flood waters raging through half of Johnstown receded slowly today while state officials raced here from Harrisburg to take charge of the gravest emergency since 1889 when 2,300 persons drowned in a flood here. Police estimate that at Least 20 had been drowned, although authentic figures were impossible. Police believed that almost all persons marooned during the night had been rescued. Approximately 5,000 refugees had been taken to tents and private homes in portions of the city not flooded. A strict police guard against looting was established around the district. Almost all Johnstown banks were flooded as were practically all business establishments, and they offered a tempting field to looters. Governor Earle mobilized forces of the state relief organization here and in Pittsburgh. Local police had the situation in close control and authorities said there was no intention of inaugurating martial law.” (United Press. “Tremendous Loss as 3 Rivers Rise.” The Monessen Daily Independent, PA. 3-18-1936, p. 1.)

March 18, INS: “WASHINGTON, March 18 – (INS) – Following close on reports of widespread damage and threat to life and property by spring floods, President Roosevelt today set up a special committee of government officials headed by Secretary of War Dern, and instructed them to take all steps necessary to extend federal aid in the stricken areas.” (Chester Times, PA. “3 Known Dead in Johnstown Flood; Wreckage Great. (continued from p.1),” 3-18-1936, p. 2.)

March 19, Morning Herald, PA: “By Bill Rogers, Somerset Herald Staff Writer.

“JOHNSTOWN, March 19. – (Thursday) – Emerging from its second greatest peace time catastrophe in half a century, Johnstown went under martial law today as federal, state and local authorities began co-operating with an army of 3,000 men who inaugurated the apparently hopeless task of rehabilitation.

“With between 30 and 35 persons believed dead and dozens unheard from since the waters of the Stoney creek and Conemaugh rivers unleashed a torrent of water and silt Tuesday, the city was in abject ruins. Truck loads of food, medical supplies, blankets, cots and rehabilitation equipment began pouring into the city last night from Somerset, New Castle, Latrobe and a half dozen other Pennsylvania towns.

“Ten thousand homes were damaged. Department stores and office buildings were tilted from their foundations. Hundreds of houses and small outbuildings were swept away. Mayor Daniel J. Shields said last night: ‘Johnstown will have to be rebuilt. The damage now is greater than it was in the great flood of 1889.’….

“Bright sunshine filled the valley Wednesday. After two days of steady rain the waters began to recede from levels that nearly equaled the 17 foot mark of the first disaster which brought the same friendly city to the attention of the world.

“Three thousand WPA workers, under specific orders from the Governor, will begin this morning at three different entrances to the city to dig through thousands of tons of debris into the heart of the city. An area estimated at about six or seven square miles was more seriously affected. The city was without power and was in utter darkness. The city was without organization as National Guardsmen did not arrive until last night. A band of local men and women met in Memorial Hospital last night to lay plans for the rehabilitation work. Scores of business places and stores were almost totally unguarded and looting was reported widespread in some instances….” (Morning Herald, Uniontown, PA. “Rescue Supplies Rushed To Stricken Johnstown; ‘City Must be Rebuilt.’” 3-19-1936, p. 1.)

March 20, AP: “PITTSBURGH, March 20. – Flood deaths in this steel metropolis mounted suddenly to 45 today as thousands of workers, worried by threats of disease and water shortage, began cleaning up debris-laden streets and buildings. Police and rescue crews, plodding knee-deep in mud thru suburban areas, uncovered hourly new evidence of the startling loss of life in the Pittsburgh area’s greatest flood. Most of the lives were lost by drowning, but some persons died in fires and explosions, aftermaths of the inundation.

“The metropolitan death list brought the total for western Pennsylvania to 69, including 15 lost in the flood at Johnstown.

“The yellow waters of the Monongahela and Allegheny rivers, which meet to form the Ohio, fell rapidly. The weather bureau predicted that by noon they would be 20 feet below Tuesday night’s crest…” (AP. “West PA. Deaths Report Now 69.” Indiana Evening Gazette, PA. 3-20-1936, p. 1.)

March 20, AP: “(By the Associated Press). Harrisburg, Mar. 20. – Desolation and death mounted hourly in the wide flood-torn eastern-central Pennsylvania area tonight as subsiding rivers revealed more and mor of the tragic toll they had taken in a three-day reign of ruin. So great was the destruction and so huge did it threaten to become, that Governor Earle wired an appeal to Washington for $10,000,000 federal fund to help the commonwealth in its fight for relief and recovery.

“The fatality total in the area jumped from 26 to 29 at nightfall with the death of two men, on a mercy errand to feed cattle near Wildes-Barre, and the finding of a fifth body at Sunbury, where three others lost their lives during the day.

“The list of homeless grew to well over 50,000 and loss and damage estimates were in the millions. The Susquehanna – a raging torrent that had torn at Pennsylvania from its New York boundary to its Maryland border – was definitely on the way down, although with maddening slowness, as was the Juniata, which had surged through the central area.

“But the historic Delaware near Philadelphia, showing little sign of giving in, took the life of a man a few miles upstream, and then inundated the Quaker city’s river-front.

“Virtually every activity except flood relief was paralyzed or crippled in the stricken sectors. Food and water supplies were threatened in many sections. Gas and electric services were crippled or shut down completely all through the region. The recession of the rampant waters was so slow that any work of reconstruction was impossible. All forces were concentrated on the relief of suffering and the major problem of preventing the spread of disease which faced nearly all communities.

“The military guarding against looting took control of a 15-mile stretch in the double-stricken Wyoming valley anthracite area of north-eastern Pennsylvania, where Wilkes-Barre and its neighboring communities were hard hit only a week ago. Fourteen thousand were homeless there. The gas supply was shut down for the second straight day. Power and light facilities were crippled.

“The Susquehanna’s waters were still three to four feet deep all over west and south Wilkes-Barre, and covered the west side of the river, opposite, 10 or 11 feet. Coast guard men and boats rushed their rescue work throughout the region, as more rain was forecast for tomorrow.

“At Williamsport and other places in the still virtually isolated valley of the Susquehanna’s west branch in central Pennsylvania, conditions were appalling. The first direct word from Williamsport told of three days of fire, flood and near destitution. An appeal was broadcast for immediate medical supplies, clothing, stoves, food and medical personnel. The river, dropping back to its banks after covering Williamsport, Renovo, Lock Haven, Sunbury and every other community in the sector, left behind it huge masses of debris and mud and slime-covered buildings, many of them wrecked and ruined. No direct word came out of Renovo, which yesterday made an urgent call for medical supplies, to be dropped by parachute from airplanes.

“….At Lock Haven…the military was the controlling factor, chiefly to prevent vandalism.

“To the south, the Susquehanna passed its flood crest at Harrisburg, the state capital, but an explosion of big chemical containers there today wrecked an inundated brick building in the flooded industrial section, and indicated that further damage was possible. A warning of danger of a water famine was broadcast by city authorities. Boiling of water and immediate inoculation was recommended.

“The lovely Juniata valley, north and west of Harrisburg, lay in ruins, its houses smashed, its residents now refugees, its communities suffering as the Juniata subsided.

“Below Harrisburg, the Susquehanna left the streets of towns in the areas of York and Lancaster counties. At Marietta and Columbia, some 250 families were driven from their homes, and the Red Cross went to their aid. Guardsmen were sent out in rowboats after reports of looting were heard.” (Associated Press. Flood Waters Recede; Leave Tragic Scenes.” Bradford Era, PA. 3-21-1936, pp. 1 and 16.)

Sources

Associated Press. “Bodies of Two Victims of Flood are Recovered.” The Oil City Derrick, PA. 3-19-1936, p. 1. Accessed 11-22-2024: https://newspaperarchive.com/oil-city-derrick-mar-19-1936-p-1/

Associated Press. “Brief Paragraphs on Flood Situation.” Titusville Herald, PA. 3-18-1936, p. 1. Accessed 11-22-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/titusville-herald-mar-18-1936-p-1/

Associated Press. “Death List in State Floods.” Record-Argus, Greenville, PA. 3-18-1936, p. 9. Accessed 11-22-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/greenville-record-argus-mar-18-1936-p-9/

Associated Press. “Fire, Hunger Add to Flood Terror; Aid Mobilized for Stricken Area.” The Record-Argus, Greenville, PA. 3-19-1936, p. 8. Accessed 11-22-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/greenville-record-argus-mar-19-1936-p-8/

Associated Press. “Flood Sidelights.” Indiana Evening Gazette, PA. 3-23-1936, p. 1. Accessed 11-23-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/indiana-evening-gazette-mar-23-1936-p-1/

Associated Press. Flood Waters Recede; Leave Tragic Scenes.” Bradford Era, PA. 3-21-1936, p. 1. Accessed 11-23-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/bradford-era-mar-21-1936-p-1/

Associated Press. “Four Lose Lives As Dam Bursts.” The Titusville Herald, PA. 3-18-1936, p. 1. Accessed 11-22-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/titusville-herald-mar-18-1936-p-1/

Associated Press. “Many Fires Unchecked; Five Known Dead; Flood Waters Begin Receding.” Morning Herald, Uniontown, PA. 3-19-1936, p. 7. Accessed 11-23-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/uniontown-morning-herald-mar-19-1936-p-7/

Associated Press. “Pennsylvania Heads Flood Fatality List.” Bradford Era, PA. 3-21-1936, p.1. Accessed 11-23-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/bradford-era-mar-21-1936-p-1/

Associated Press. “West PA. Deaths Report Now 69.” Indiana Evening Gazette, PA. 3-20-1936, p. 1. Accessed 11-23-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/indiana-evening-gazette-mar-20-1936-p-1/

Associated Press. “Williamsport, Clearfield, Other Towns Under Water.” The Oil City Derrick, PA. 3-19-1936, p. 1. Accessed 11-22-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/oil-city-derrick-mar-19-1936-p-1/

Chester Times, PA. “3 Known Dead in Johnstown Flood; Wreckage Great. (continued from p.1),” 3-18-1936, p. 2. Accessed 11-22-2024 at:

https://newspaperarchive.com/chester-times-mar-18-1936-p-2/

Chester Times, PA. “50,000 Homeless, Death Stalks in Flood Areas.” 3-19-1936, p. 2. Accessed 11-22-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/chester-times-mar-19-1936-p-2/

Clearfield Progress, PA. “River Sets New High Flood Mark For Year. Steady Rainfall at Noon is Indication of Trouble Looming.” 3-17-1936, pp. 1 and 5. Accessed 11-21-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/clearfield-progress-mar-17-1936-p-1/

Dubois Morning Courier, PA. “Immediate Food and Clothing for Flood Sufferers (cont. p.1).” 3-19-1936, p. 10. Accessed 11-22-2024: https://newspaperarchive.com/dubois-courier-mar-19-1936-p-10/

Gelber, Ben. The Pennsylvania Weather Book. Piscataway, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2002. Google preview accessed 1-4-2018 at: http://books.google.com/books?id=34RKv9fMFo4C&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

Indiana Evening Gazette, Indiana, PA. “Many State Points Report Flood Trouble.” 3-18-1936, p. 2. Accessed 11-22-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/indiana-evening-gazette-mar-18-1936-p-2/

Indiana Evening Gazette, Indiana, PA. “Pittsburgh Fears Fire (continued from page one).” 3-19-1936, p. 2. Accessed 11-22-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/indiana-evening-gazette-mar-19-1936-p-2/

Indiana Evening Gazette, PA. “Six Dead, Two Injured and 205 families Homeless in County…” 3-23-1936, p. 2. Accessed 11-23-2024: https://newspaperarchive.com/indiana-evening-gazette-mar-23-1936-p-1/

INS (International News Service). “Two Drown In Rescue.” Chester Times, PA. 3-18-1936, p. 2. Accessed 11-22-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/chester-times-mar-18-1936-p-2/

INS (International News Service). “Youth Drowned Near Sunbury.” Chester Times, PA. 3-18-1936, p. 1. Accessed 11-22-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/chester-times-mar-18-1936-p-1/

Johnstown Flood Museum. “More about the 1936 and 1977 disasters.” Johnstown Area Heritage Association. Accessed 11-23-2024 at:

1936 & 1977 Floods

Kiner, Deb. “‘Tremendous damage’: The St. Patrick’s Day flood of 1936 devastated Pa.” PennLive Patriot-News, 3-17-2021. Accessed 11-23-2024 at: https://www.pennlive.com/life/2021/03/tremendous-damage-the-st-patricks-day-flood-of-1936-devastated-pa.html

Morning Herald, Uniontown, PA. “Rescue Supplies Rushed To Stricken Johnstown; ‘City Must be Rebuilt.’” 3-19-1936, p. 1. Accessed 11-23-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/uniontown-morning-herald-mar-19-1936-p-1/

Somerset Daily Herald, PA. “5 Deaths From Flood, Report.” 3-18-1936, p. 2. Accessed 11-22-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/somerset-daily-herald-mar-18-1936-p-2/

United Press. “Flood Death Toll Now is 150…” The Daily News, Huntington, PA. 3-18-20, 1936, p. 1. Accessed 11-22-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/huntingdon-daily-news-mar-18-1936-p-1/

United Press and INS. “Officials Set Deaths in Flood States at 174.” Chester Times, PA. 3-24-1936, pp. 1-2. Accessed 11-23-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/chester-times-mar-24-1936-p-2/

United Press. “Tremendous Loss as 3 Rivers Rise.” The Monessen Daily Independent, PA. 3-18-1936, p. 1. Accessed 11-22-2024: https://newspaperarchive.com/monessen-daily-independent-mar-18-1936-p-1/

[1] Not clear if all these deaths were in PA in that article notes flooding in Springfield, MA, Hartford, CN, “and scores of smaller places on rampage to Long Island Sound” as well as Marietta OH.

[2] Chester Times, PA, 3-24-1936, pp. 1-2.

[3] United Press. “Flood Death Toll Now is 150…” The Daily News, Huntington, PA. 3-18-20, 1936, p. 1.

[4] Associated Press. “Death List in State Floods.” Record-Argus, Greenville, PA. 3-18-1936, p. 9.

[5] Indiana Evening Gazette, Indiana, PA. “Pittsburgh Fears Fire (continued from page one).” 3-19-1936, p. 2.

[6] Associated Press. “Flood Sidelights.” Indiana Evening Gazette, PA. 3-23-1936, p. 1.

[7] Associated Press. “Flood Sidelights.” Indiana Evening Gazette, PA. 3-23-1936, p. 1.

[8] Indiana Evening Gazette, PA. “Pittsburgh Fears Fire (continued from page one).” 3-19-1936, p. 2.

[9] Associated Press. “Death List in State Floods.” Record-Argus, Greenville, PA. 3-18-1936, p. 9.

[10] Indiana Evening Gazette, Indiana, PA. “Pittsburgh Fears Fire (continued from page one).” 3-19-1936, p. 2.

[11] AP. “Fire, Hunger Add to Flood Terror; Aid Mobilized…” Record-Argus, Greenville, PA. 3-19-1936, p1.

[12] AP. “Fire, Hunger Add to Flood Terror; Aid Mobilized…” Record-Argus, Greenville, PA. 3-19-1936, p1.

[13] Indiana Evening Gazette, Indiana, PA. “Pittsburgh Fears Fire (continued from page one).” 3-19-1936, p. 2.

[14] Associated Press. “Flood Sidelights.” Indiana Evening Gazette, PA. 3-23-1936, p. 1.

[15] Associated Press. “Death List in State Floods.” Record-Argus, Greenville, PA. 3-18-1936, p. 9.

[16] Associated Press. “Flood Sidelights.” Indiana Evening Gazette, PA. 3-23-1936, p. 1.

[17] Somerset Daily Herald, PA. “5 Deaths From Flood, Report.” 3-18-1936, p. 2.

[18] Associated Press. “Death List in State Floods.” Record-Argus, Greenville, PA. 3-18-1936, p. 9.

[19] Associated Press. “Death List in State Floods.” Record-Argus, Greenville, PA. 3-18-1936, p. 9.

[20] Associated Press. “Bodies of Two Victims of Flood are Recovered.” The Oil City Derrick, PA. 3-19-1936, p. 1.

[21] Associated Press. “Flood Sidelights.” Indiana Evening Gazette, PA. 3-23-1936, p. 1.

[22] Roy Scyoc, James Miller, Wilber Ross. AP. “Pennsylvania Floodlights.” The Record-Argus, PA. 3-19-1936, p. 1.

[23] AP. “Many Fires Unchecked; Five Known Dead…” Morning Herald, Uniontown, PA. 3-19-1936, p. 7.

[24] Somerset Daily Herald, PA. “5 Deaths From Flood, Report.” 3-18-1936, p. 2.

[25] Indiana Evening Gazette, PA. “Six Dead, Two Injured and 205 families Homeless in County…” 3-23-1936, p. 2.

[26] UP/INS. “Officials Set Deaths in Flood States at 174.” Chester Times, PA. 3-24-1936, 2.

[27] Morning Herald, Uniontown, PA. “Rescue Supplies Rushed To Stricken Johnstown…” 3-19-1936, p. 1.

[28] “Although the greatest flooding of all time at Johnstown was the catastrophic flood of 1889, the St. Patrick’s Day Flood of March, 1936, represented at that time the greatest flood of record without unnatural augmentation….Although the ‘1936 Flood’ caused almost fourfold more property damage than the ‘1889 Flood’ with damages estimated at 42 million dollars, however because of the timely warning of the forthcoming disaster, made possible through the use of modern communication systems, a great loss of life was averted and only 25 people lost their lives in the St. Patrick’s Day Flood of 1936.”

[29] Chester Times, PA. “50,000 Homeless, Death Stalks in Flood Areas.” 3-19-1936, p. 2.

[30] Associated Press. “Death List in State Floods.” Record-Argus, Greenville, PA. 3-18-1936, p. 9.

[31] Somerset Daily Herald, PA. “5 Deaths From Flood, Report.” 3-18-1936, p. 2.

[32] Chester Times, PA. “3 Known Dead in Johnstown Flood; Wreckage Great. (continued from p.1),” 3-18-1936, p. 2.

[33] Associated Press. “Pennsylvania Floodlights.” The Record-Argus, PA. 3-19-1936, p. 1.

[34] Associated Press. “Flood Sidelights.” Indiana Evening Gazette, PA. 3-23-1936, p. 1.

[35] Associated Press. “Flood Sidelights.” Indiana Evening Gazette, PA. 3-23-1936, p. 1.

[36] INS (International News Service). “Two Drown In Rescue.” Chester Times, PA. 3-18-1936, p. 2.

[37] Associated Press. Flood Waters Recede; Leave Tragic Scenes.” Bradford Era, PA. 3-21-1936, p. 1.)

[38] Associated Press. “Death List in State Floods.” Record-Argus, Greenville, PA. 3-18-1936, p. 9.

[39] Dam burst. Associated Press. “Four Lose Lives As Dam Bursts.” The Titusville Herald, PA. 3-18-1936, p. 1.

[40] UP/INS. “Officials Set Deaths in Flood States at 174.” Chester Times, PA. 3-24-1936, 2.

[41] INS (International News Service). “Youth Drowned Near Sunbury.” Chester Times, PA. 3-18-1936, p. 1.

[42] Associated Press. “Death List in State Floods.” Record-Argus, Greenville, PA. 3-18-1936, p. 9.

[43] Associated Press. “Pennsylvania Floodlights.” The Record-Argus, PA. 3-19-1936, p. 1.

[44] UP/INS. “Officials Set Deaths in Flood States at 174.” Chester Times, PA. 3-24-1936, 2.

[45] UP/INS. “Officials Set Deaths in Flood States at 174.” Chester Times, PA. 3-24-1936, p. 2.

[46] Associated Press. Flood Waters Recede; Leave Tragic Scenes.” Bradford Era, PA. 3-21-1936, p. 1.

[47] Associated Press. “Williamsport, Clearfield, Other Towns Under Water.” Oil City Derrick, PA. 3-19-1936, p. 1.

[48] Indiana Evening Gazette, Indiana, PA. “Many State Points Report Flood Trouble.” 3-18-1936, p. 2.

[49] Dubois Morning Courier, PA. “Immediate Food and Clothing for Flood Sufferers (cont. p.1).” 3-19-1936, p. 10.

[50] Associated Press. “Death List in State Floods.” Record-Argus, Greenville, PA. 3-18-1936, p. 9.