As the story goes, the tragic Johnstown Flood of May 1889 almost sunk the ascendency of future monopolists Andrew Carnegie and Henry Clay Frick. Both were members of the infamous South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club that factored heavily in the history of the tragic flood that claimed the lives of over 2,200 unsuspecting residents of Johnstown and Woodvale, Pa. Those towns bore the brunt of the onslaught of raging waters when a dam broke upstream. The dam was constructed to create a lake for use by the private club where many of the industrial tycoons of the day from Pittsburgh could rough it and relax. Unfortunately, the earthen dam was badly rebuilt and maintained by the club, including allowing the lake waters to rise to within a few feet of the brim of the dam as well as blocking the safety spillway with fencing intended to keep the big bass in the lake for members to catch.
In the aftermath of the flood, government investigations were commenced and lawsuits were brought, including against the club itself, but not its members. Not a single penny was ever recovered in the lawsuits. The investigation found fault and cast blame but no person was really ever held accountable. The public and press outcry was terrific. While the club was in their crosshairs, the members of the club were able to keep a safe distance. Carnegie generally talked about the flood but not his membership in the club, which was not disclosed until months later. Fellow club member Frick never made any public statement about the flood then or ever. Frick and Carnegie had their hands full at the time trying to quash union organizing at their Pittsburgh coke and steel plants, including the infamous Homestead labor riot in 1892 where workers were killed by hired Pinkerton guards in a shootout.
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