austin dam memorial park

A total of 78 people were killed when this dam collapsed more than 100 years ago. You can drive right down to the base of the dam. Standing there and seeing how the power of the raging waters moved the massive sections of the dam that still stand is a sobering experience.

This is a very interesting site. The Austin Dam was built in 1909 for a paper mill. In 1911 the dam broke, releasing over 400,000,000 gallons of water, and destroyed much of the town of Austin and everything in its path for 8 miles. At least 78 people died. We took the extremely rutted road down to see the ruins of the dam; I'm not sure this would work for all vehicles, but we proceeded with caution. It was interesting to see what was left of the dam. The town of Austin has a historical society, which had just closed when we arrived; but the kind staff member opened it up so I could purchase a book on the dam and the flood; the book was available for about eight dollars and it was well worth the purchase. This is worth seeing, and stopping by the historical Society, if you're in the area.

Although the road into the park is a little ruff this a great place to stop and get a little history lesson and enjoy the outdoors. There is a medium size pavilion, small gift shop with very reasonable prices (I got my son a hoodie for $7.) and a modern toilet. The bathroom is not handicap accessible and there is not a sink to wash your hands. There is a well with a pump so bring your own soap or some hand sanitize. The trails are a little hard to navigate but you can still enjoy the park with out doing a lot of walking. The volunteer at the gift shop was telling me they are adding improvements all the time and are currently doing fundraising to improve the road. There are also primitive camp sites with fire rings. Every August they have a music concert and light show and they just put in a new stage for bands. If you take the road farther down the park you can see the old paper mill and ruins from the town that was hit when the dam broke in 1911. People bring their metal detectors and find lots items such as silver wear in the town ruins.

This is a nice little park. (*history lesson: In 1911 the Austin Dam broke and flooded the nearby town of Austin, PA)If you're in the neighborhood, why not stop. The park in nestled in a valley and is just peaceful.