Cambria Library

On May 31, 1889, Washington Street became one of the main paths of destruction for the raging flood wave from the broken South Fork Dam. Two buildings stood on this site: the office residence of Mrs. Hettie Ogle, the Western Union telegraph and central telephone operator, and the public library built and owned by the Cambria Iron Company. Both were reduced to a pile of debris held in place by the library's iron girders. Mrs. Ogle and her daughter Minnie were lost, and their bodies were never identified. Andrew Carnegie, steel magnate and member of the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club, volunteered to rebuild the library, spending over $55,000 on it. This building, designed by Philadelphia architect Addison Hutton, was dedicated on February 19, 1892.

Johnstown, Pennsylvania · United States