This is just the beginning! Our collection holds over 300 years of history, including rare newspapers, obituaries, marriage records, birth records, and so much more—most of which you won’t find anywhere else!
This newspaper page contains 11 articles. Subscribers can read the full text of each article.
Newspaper
Dixon Sun
Location
Dixon, Illinois, United States of America
Date
Jun 12, 1889
Page
8
William Henry Smith recounts the Conemaugh Valley disaster with vivid detail of floods and wreckage. Trains halted by washouts, houses submerged, and a reservoir failure linked to a Pittsburgh club’s recreation lake devastate Johnstown and surrounding villages, raising questions of moral responsibility.
Special correspondent Jonan Fred R. Giles reports from Johnstown on the catastrophe. The scene shows hundreds dead in a hillside schoolhouse with 150 bodies counted and many more beneath wreckage as families perish and coffins rush in to burial.
A catastrophic flood from a ruptured reservoir hammers Conemaugh and Johnstown Pennsylvania. Passengers flee as waters sweep away round-house and locomotives, killing hundreds while survivors seek shelter on higher ground. The city of Johnstown is described as destroyed with thousands feared dead.
Descriptive report shows a ruined town with a gloomy sky and rain. Residents face widescale loss as tents house the homeless and searchers comb muddy streets for bodies amid massive debris from Woodvale and the valley floods.
The side of one carriage bore a battered harnessed horse body and a baby cradle with a doll. A woman’s hair tress and a rocking horse lay nearby, along with a piece of beef steak still hanging to a hook.
A Johnstown special reports Kernville and Woodvale crushed by floods with only 155 of 1000 homes standing. Countless lives lost, bodies recovered, survivors scarred, and chaos giving way to aid efforts. A German guard recalls a wave reaching three stories. Hospitals surge as relief begins and rebuilding plans form.
Reports from Johnstown describe the South Fork Dam collapse at 3 PM Friday, sending a flood that wiped out the lake area and caused massive loss of life. Over five thousand deaths are feared with eight thousand missing, and relief efforts mobilize 2000 recovered bodies, food, clothing, and manpower being dispatched from Pittsburg.
Frank Felt and Sidney McCloud, Chicago merchants, survived the Johnstown flood. They estimate 10 000 to 15 000 lives lost and saw 20 000 people in town on Decoration Day. They crossed water to reach high ground as the wall of water and yellow foam smashed houses and crowds.
Eyewitness accounts describe the Johnston flood washing away towns along the south fork. Maguire recalls walls bursting, water surging down the mountain, and hundreds of people swept from homes in Mineral Point and East Conemaugh with extensive loss of life. Rescue efforts by Chicago relief parties saved over fifty, as travelers in hotels resorted to drastic self harm.
An old gentleman confronts a young man at the door. The youth explains a hint about not being liked, then asks if the old man would join their football association. The scene centers on social clash and invitation within a sporting group.
The Boydston Herald notes social tyranny that pressures individuals to conform to group habits in drink gambling smoking and late meals, ostracizing those who resist. The piece argues nonconformity leads to social exclusion as society dictates vice and behavior.
We want people to find what they are looking for at NewspaperArchive. We are confident that we have the newspapers that will increase the value of your family history or other historical research. With our 7-day free trial, you can view the documents you find for free.
People find the most success using advanced search. Try plugging in keywords, names, dates, and locations, and get matched with results from the entire collection of newspapers at NewspaperArchive!
You can also successfully find newspapers by these browse options. Explore our archives on your own!
Browse by location and discover newspapers from all across the world.
Browse by date and find publications for a specific day or era.
Browse old newspaper publications to find specific newspapers.