Greensburg, Penn., July 5 - A cloudburst of immense proportions struck at the Summer resort called Oakford Park at 4 o'clock this afternoon and created a flood that caused great loss of life and property. It is known that at least 20 persons lost their lives, and rumors place the number of dead at more than 100, but up until a lat hour tonight only 3 or 4 bodies have been recovered, having been washed to the banks of the little creek that runs parallel with the park. A telephone message from Jeannette received at midnight says from fifty to seventy-five men, women, and children perished by the cloudburst at Oakford Park today. The majority were drowned or their lives beaten out against the rocks in Brush Creek, but quite a number were electrocuted. Today at least 800 persons were at the park seeking relief from the heat. At 3 o'clock rain began to fall in torrents in the vicinity of the park and spread over territory covering probably ten miles. SLOW TO HEED WARNING  A half hour later the cloudburst occurred. The waters in the lake north of Oakford Park began to rise and Manager James McGrath, believing there was danger of a break in the giant walls of the dam, hurried among the crowds of pleasure seekers who had gathered under the roofs of the cating stands, the dancing pavillion and other buildings in line of water should the banks break and warned them to run to the hills. On both sides of the pleasure grounds are high hills, the park being situated in a ravine about a fourth of a mile wide and a mile long. The people, being protected from the rain, were loath to leave the cozy places, and not until Mr. McGrath and his assistant, Charles E. Thomas, entered each building in turn and simply drove the crowds out into the rain did they realize that the managers were in earnest. The most potent warning was that depicted in the pale faces of the two men, who knew from careful study of the dam, that the flood meant probably the breaking of the wall. A half hour after the buildings had been cleared of the people, the flood mounted the wall of the dam and within five minutes water seven feet deep was flowing over the entire length of the wall. The buildings which studded the park or ravine, the merry-go-round, and other amusement places were twisted about and all but the dancing pavillion and lunch stand were knocked from their foundations. The rain continued to fall in torrents and about 4 o'clock, forty feet of the wall of the dam to the east gave way with an awful crash. The flood beat down the ravine with a roar that was heard for two miles. A half mile down at the junction of Greensburg and Jeannette and the Park car lines, the car barns were located. A solid wall of water twenty feet high rushed down and completely filled the narrow ravine with its car tracks, car barn and restaurant. The entire gates to the park were lifted and with the force of a pile driver the mammoth posts were hurled by the waters against the barn. Beyond was located the small waiting room and on the track was standing a car laden with from fifty to seventy passengers, many of them seeking to return to Jeannette, others using it as a temporary shelter. The electrical storm had rendered the power south of here useless and the motorman was unable to move the car. TROLLEY CAR SWEPT AWAY  With the immense body of water behind it, the crest of the flood bore down with irresistible force. As it swept down the marrow ravine it carried with it in its embrace the crowded street car and the crowded restaurant. The flood was filled with men, women and children struggling for their lives. The poles carrying the heavily charged trolley wires were uprooted and strewn along the grounds. In a number of instances-how many is not yet known-the victims of the flood, grasping for anything that might save them from the fury of the water, seized the trolley wires and met death by being electrocuted instead of being downed. Several bodies have already been recovered that show that death was the result of this cause.
It was believed that ten people who were in the car were drowned. Overly and O'Brian, who were employes of the Brown-Ketcham Company here, were lost, as well as the two girls. Miss Keeler was nineteen years old. Councilman John Light, his wife and two children of Greensburg, are also reported lost. Standing on the platform near the waiting room were a man and his wife, whose names have not been learned. When the flood came the husband escaped, but the wife was carried away. It is said that the couple resided in Jeannette. It was 6 o'clock when the first messenger bearing the news of the catastrophe reached Greensburg. The park is patronized bu the people of this town and Jeannette, and when the fact was announced that the dam had given way and rumor said that from 200 to 300 people were drowned, excitement knew no bounds. The shutting down of the power house by an electric bolt rendered the cars on the Pittsburgh, McKeesport and Greensburg Railway helpless and the fact that the roads and all the lines to the park were flooded made it impossible to drive to the scene of the disaster. SEARCHING FOR THE MISSING There was but one way to get there, for the thousands who had friends in the park, and that was was to walk over a circuitous route covering a distance of fully seven miles. Hundreds of people, who at nightfall missed members of their families at supper time, hastened with lanterns over the hills in search of their loved ones. Many of them were overjoyed to meet their relatives on their way home. At 11 o'clock tonight anxious fathers and mothers, who had succeeded in reaching the scene by carriages and other conveyances after the waters had receded, lined the flooded districts anxiously searching and waiting for some one to announce the finding of a body. The army of searchers is headed by Manager McGrath, who is doing everything to allay the sufferings of the anxious persons who are awaiting some tidings of missing friends. Late tonight many of those who were first reported missing from Greensburg turned up here, and it is now believed that not more than four or five people of this place went down in the flood. Undertakers Coshey and Perry are also there in addition to several undertakers from Jeannette. It is thought that with the various outlets, the water will subside before morning and that at least some of the bodies will be recovered. William Cline Jr., of this city, barely escaped from the rush of water and was an eye witness to the disaster. Mr. Cline's statement is as follows: "I was standing at the car barn at the time the warning was given. Two women came running down from the park and said that the dam had burst. I afterward learned that the dam broke at the upper end and at the lower end the water overflowed. The flood was headed by two immense timbers that came crashing down. The waiting room where people board the street cars was full of women and children. Scarcely any of these escaped. The cries for help were awful to hear." Several years ago a resort was established about a half a mile from Jeannette and called Oakford Park. Several small streams run though the valley close to the park and it was decided to make a miniature lake of them. A dam some forty feet high was built, creating a lake. The latter is about half a mile long and a quarter of a mile wide. It attained a depth of thirty-five feet. It was known as Oakford Park Lake. The resort is located along the line of the Pennsylvania Railroad and receives its patronage from Greensburg Manor, Irwin, Derry and other small towns in the vicinity. * Please contact John Howard at 724-787-9070 to purchase historical pictures of Jeannette. | 
