Austin Dam failure (Pennsylvania)

Austin Dam
Remnants of Austin Dam in 2008
LocationKeating Township, Potter County, near Austin, Pennsylvania
Opening dateDecember 1909[1]
Demolition dateSeptember 30, 1911[1]
Operator(s)Bayless Pulp & Paper Company
Dam and spillways
ImpoundsFreeman Run
Height50 feet (15 m)[1]
Length540 feet (160 m)[1]
Reservoir
CreatesAustin Dam Pool
Total capacity200,000,000 US gallons (760,000,000 L)[1]
Austin Dam
School house after dam disaster
Austin Dam failure (Pennsylvania) is located in Pennsylvania
Austin Dam failure (Pennsylvania)
Austin Dam failure (Pennsylvania) is located in the United States
Austin Dam failure (Pennsylvania)
LocationPA 872, Austin, Pennsylvania
Coordinates41°39′11″N 78°5′8″W / 41.65306°N 78.08556°W / 41.65306; -78.08556
Area1.3 acres (0.53 ha)
Built1911
Built byHatton, T. Chalkey
NRHP reference No.86003570[2]
Added to NRHPJanuary 15, 1987

The Austin Dam, also known as the Bayless Dam, was a concrete gravity dam in the Austin, Pennsylvania, area that served the Bayless Pulp and Paper Mill. Built in 1909, it was the largest dam of its type in Pennsylvania at the time. The catastrophic failure of the dam on September 30, 1911, caused significant destruction and loss of life in Freeman Run Valley below the dam.

  1. ^ a b c d e Wise, Eric (September 2005). "The Day Austin Died" (PDF). Penn Lines. 40 (9). Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania Rural Electric Association: 8–11. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-12-19. Retrieved 2009-09-19.
  2. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.