On September 30, 1911, the Bayless Pulp and Paper Company dam broke here. This concrete dam, built in 1909, was nearly 50 feet high and 534 feet long. Its failure sent torrents of water and debris down Freeman Run into Austin and Costello, causing great destruction and killing at least 78 people. This second worst single-dam disaster in Pennsylvania inspired legislation in 1913 to regulate the construction of dams in the state.