On September 30, 1911, a concrete dam, maintained by the Bayless Pulp and Paper Mill, burst, sending 4,500,000 gallons of water through the town of Austin, Pennsylvania, and the smaller localities of Costello and Wharton. Officially, the disaster killed seventy-eight people, even though the initial estimate was almost 1,000 deaths. The collapse of the dam in Potter County led to improved regulations for dams across Pennsylvania and the country.

Built in 1909, it was the largest dam of its type in Pennsylvania. In an effort to cut expenses, Bayless reportedly built walls 20 feet thick instead of the 30 feet originally planned. Other construction cutbacks also contributed to the disaster.

One day after the dam break, newspapers across Pennsylvania screamed headlines of a major catastrophe. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported, “850 perish, Thousands Injured in Flood and Fire.” The Pittsburgh Post Gazette carried similar sensation headlines including “Thousands Perish in Big Deluge and Fire Razing Three Towns.” (Austin, Costello, and Wharton)

In the immediate hours following the break, and devastation, The Inquirer had this graphic description and the search for survivors. “It is estimated tonight that a thousand buildings have been torn from their foundations and crushed in the flood or have been destroyed by fire. The water made its way through the business section of the town and left only four buildings standing. The valley of Freeman's Run is narrow, and the town was built along its banks. All the buildings in the lower part the valley were swept clear of their foundations by the torrent and many of those which remained quickly fell prey to the flames. There was no one to attempt to stop the fire, and it was allowed to burn itself out, the survivors of t the flood standing idly on the hillsides, stunned beyond the power to act.

A feeble effort was made in the lower part of the town where the flood soon spent its force, to save property and lives, but it was sporadic. The full force the catastrophe could be seen from that point perhaps better than from any other, and all efforts were abandoned. It is reported that some lives were saved at this point, but if were the names of the persons have not been obtained.”

The newspaper reported many men of the town who had been at work when the dam broke were frantically searching for their families. “The scene in the village tonight is appalling. Here and there can be seen the light of some torch or lantern as a distracted father searches along the banks of the flood for some evidence of his family and home.

Men who a day ago were among the most levelheaded in the community know not what to do. There is no leader, and hundreds are waiting for daylight before they will attempt to act. The few who are trying to bring some order out of chaos are handicapped by the cries of the bereaved" and unfortunate. The extent of the disaster will not be known for hours”

Nearly one-hundred and fifteen years after the Austin disaster, figures indicated 3000 people were in the town the day of the break. Estimates placed the damage at ten-million dollars. The Austin Dam Memorial Park commemorates the victims of the dam break.

The remains of the failed first dam still stand. The ruins consist of a series of broken sections extending east-west across the Freeman Run Valley - five upright sections and two large and several smaller toppled sections.[1] The site was added to the National Register of Historic Places 1n 1887.[2]

The paper mill and dam were later rebuilt, but a fire destroyed the mill in 1933. A new dam was built, but it also failed, in 1942, with no loss of life. They did not replace the dam after the second failure. The victims of the dam break are commemorated in the Austin Dam Memorial Park. [1]

A documentary about the dam disaster, featuring narration by Willie Nelson, was created by Mansfield University of Pennsylvania professor Gale Largey in 1999. It includes interviews with five survivors along with original newsreel footage. [3]