Of Dominoes and Dams: The Rise and Fall of the Bayless Paper Mill (Potter County)

The ruins of the infamous dam that caused the Austin Flood

    Remember playing with dominos? We all probably at some point in our lives made a long line of neatly stacked dominoes. If you did everything right and the dominoes were spaced out correctly, once you toppled that first domino, the entire line would follow suit in a spectacular chain reaction. If the alignment was off even by a little bit, the line would come to a halt. At this point, you could either start over, or simply topple the next domino to continue the effect. Regardless, in the end there was quite a mess to clean up.  However, for a small town in the heart of the Pennsylvania Wilds, the mess that resulted from a domino chain of disaster that occurred over a century ago changed the community forever. 

     The man ultimately responsible for constructing this ill-fated domino chain was one George Corbett Bayless. Born to John and Amanda Bayless of Corbettville, New York in 1862, George would live a life of privilege and success. After completing public schooling, he continued his education at a private institution in Massachusetts. Upon graduation, George would immediately jump into the business world, first working at his father’s acid production company. 

George Corbett Bayless
Image Retrieved From: Binghamton and Boone County, New York: A History

    In 1882, with the help of this brother Franklin, George formed the Bayless Paper Company of Binghamton, NY. George took a break from business in 1887 when he was elected mayor of Binghamton. At 24 years old, he was the youngest person to serve as mayor in the city’s history, a position he held until the following year. Returning to his business, George and Franklin later reorganized their paper company as the Bayless Pulp and Paper Company in 1893.

    Ambition drove George to expand his business in 1900, a decision that brought him to a bustling lumber town in Potter County. The borough of Austin had been formed just over a decade before, a product of Pennsylvania’s logging boom. What had started as a small collection of rudimentary dwellings was now a town of almost 3,000 residents. Vast tracts of hemlock and hardwoods on the surrounding ridges and hollows kept the town’s two sawmills operating around the clock.

    For George Bayless, Austin was the perfect place to build a new paper mill. Such an operation required two critical resources, water and pulp wood. Freeman Run, the principle water source in the valley, would provide the immense quantities of water needed. While much of region’s trees had been taken for lumber, toppings and smaller diameter trees left behind could be utilized for pulp wood. A new mill would benefit the town as well. Residents could see the tracts of timber quickly vanishing and the addition of another industry would provide jobs well after the sawmills closed.

    By 1901 the mill was in operation. To supply water to the mill, an earthen dam with a stone and cement spillway was constructed a mile upstream. Unbeknownst to anyone at the time, the dam's completion had signaled the fall of the first domino.

Remnants of the first dam and spillway
Author's Photo

 

Remnants of the mill's bleaching tanks. 
Author's Photo

    Shortcomings of the mill dam soon became evident. During droughts, the reservoir could not hold enough water to keep the mill running, forcing Bayless to decrease production or shutdown the mill until the reservoir could be refilled. To eliminate these inconveniences, George Bayless knew he needed a larger dam.

    Bayless hired Thomas Chalkley Hatten, a dam engineer, to construct a larger concrete dam that would fulfill the needs of his mill. Construction of the new dam commenced in May 1909 and was completed by December of that year. Situated 800 feet downstream from the first dam, the new dam stretched 534 feet across and towered almost 50 feet above the valley floor.

The newly completed concrete dam.
The first dam can be seen in the background

    From all outward appearances, the newly completed dam appeared sound, however fatal flaws existed within the massive structure. George Bayless had budgeted $85,000 for the project, but as construction had continued it was apparent that the project would quickly surpass that amount. George, being the shrewd businessman that he was, decided to intervene to reduce costs.

    Bayless pressured Hatton to make alterations to his initial design that included: reducing the amount of metal reinforcing rods used to strengthen the concrete, reduction of an underground wall to prevent seepage under the dam, raising the height of the dam and spillway, and eliminating an emergency release valve. Once complete, Bayless had the dam immediately filled, rather than wait a sufficient time to allow the concrete to fully cure. The end result was a dam with dubious integrity that lacked any means to release excessive water should the need arise.

    That need did arise just one month later. Snow-melt and rain filled the dam to capacity in late January 1910. Seepage under the dam was witnessed in several locations. On January 23, the dam was physically pushed several inches on its foundation, cracking it in several places. With the dam on the verge of failing, catastrophe was certain.

The dam during the 1910 partial failure. Notice the bulge

    To avert disaster, Bayless ordered a notch blown in the dam with dynamite. This last-ditch measure prevented a complete failure of the dam. Repairs began immediately. In the meantime, a timber-crib dam was constructed further upstream to supply water to the mill and allow workers to make repairs on the concrete dam. After just five months, the timber-crib dam exhibited significant amounts of seepage from under it. So much in fact that it had to be drained and repaired.

The notch blown in the dam to release water 

    While repairs to the concrete dam were underway, Thomas Hatton prepared recommendations to reinforce it to prevent such an episode from happening again. It is at this point in the story that the metaphorical domino chain that had been slowly yet steadily falling was interrupted. Bayless now had the chance to ensure the dam was sufficiently strong by implementing these improvements.  

This was the opportunity to avert a future disaster that seemed to be an almost certainty.   

    Bayless looked at Hatton's recommendations and promptly ignored them. With his own hand,  Bayless had restarted the chain in motion. When repairs were concluded, Bayless had the reservoir refilled to almost capacity without any negative response from the dam. To him, this was all the evidence he needed to declare the dam was still sound.

    Operations at the mill resumed and all seemed well with the dam until mid-September 1911. Heavy rains once again filled the reservoir to almost capacity, the first time since the partial failure the year before. Water was seen seeping under and through the dam in several places. When it was suggested that some water be released, Bayless rebuffed the suggestion on the grounds that it would dampen production at the mill. Fate would not give him another chance to intervene. 

    On September 30th, at around  2:15 PM, the concrete dam instantaneously failed, releasing a monstrous wave of 200 million gallons of water towards the mill and the town. 30 minutes later, the wave of water reached slammed into the mill and swallowed up the 700,000 cords of wood stored there. 

    When the wave of water and debris reached Austin, it was like the entire town had been fed into a meat grinder. This destruction was repeated downstream in the village of Costello. At least 78 lives were lost in the disaster; the real number may never be known. As survivors began searching for missing loved ones, fingers began to be pointed towards George Bayless. 

 

Austin after the flood

    By 1911, Bayless' mill was becoming the only major source of employment for the town as operations at the lumber mills were waning. Bayless knew the town depended on his mill for jobs and soon announced that he would rebuild the mill. He simultaneously passed around an agreement to his surviving employees that promised employment at the new mill if they didn't take legal action against him.

    Suits that were filed by family members who had lost loved ones were settled out of court where Bayless agreed to pay a percentage of the damages and make up the balance with stock in the company. Justification for this was that paying the full amounts would bankrupt the company, a result the town could not afford.

    True to his word, Bayless set in motion plans to rebuild the mill. It was decided to not rebuild the concrete dam, leaving its remnants to lay exactly as they were that fateful September day.

An advertisement showing the new mill
Image Retrieved from: The Paper Trade Journal

    Regardless of the cold winter, construction of the new 200×600ft. main building was completed in just 130 days. Constructing the new mill had required 18 railroad cars of brick, 450 tons of steel supports, 152,000lbs. of concrete, 110,000 square feet of roofing material, 600 million feet of lumber, and 370 skylights. Water for the new mill was supplied by the timber crib dam that had been built after the original dam had partially failed in 1910. In March 1912 the company was reorganized as the Bayless Manufacturing Corporation.

The timber crib dam before it was reinforced with dirt
Image Retrieved From: Annual Report of the Water Supply Commission of PA

    By 1916, the plant was producing 65-70 tons of paper daily with an annual production of 20,000 tons. The following year, a Jenssen acid tower was added to the plant. This structure, composed of hollow concrete towers, produced sulfite acid liquor for the paper-making process. Limestone, water, and sulfur in gaseous form were mixed inside the hollow concrete towers to produce the mixture.

The mill's Jenssen acid tower 
Author's Photo

 
    On March 3, 1923 George Corbett Bayless passed away at the age of 61. He was buried in Spring Forest Cemetery in Binghamton, New York. A short biography of his life described him as “ a gentleman in the best sense of the word, sympathetic, loyal, honorable and likable.” His son Stanley Corbett then assumed control of the company. While George was gone, the dominoes continued to fall one by one. 

    In 1933, the company went bankrupt and was sold to Veta Mines. It was renamed Williamson Pulp & Paper Company and later A &P Corrugated Box Corp. Operations appear checked based on the few sources available. 

The mill does not appear operational in this 1938 aerial photo
Image Retrieved From:http://maps.psiee.psu.edu 

An aerial view of the impoundment area behind the log dam in 1938.
Another indication that the mill was not running is the lack of stored water behind the dam
Image retrieved from: http://maps.psiee.psu.edu

    On July 18, 1942, heavy rains inundated the north-central Pennsylvania. Some areas received 30 inches within 24 hours and set creek level records that still stand to this day. In Austin, the 32-year-old timber-crib dam above the paper mill was over-topped. It soon failed, releasing the entire reservoir of 65,000,000 gallons towards Austin and the mill. Thankfully, the town had been evacuated and no lives were lost.

The timber crib dam as it appears today. Notice one of the timbers still in the creek
Author's Photo

   

     The town itself on the other hand, was in shambles. Entire buildings had been pushed off their foundations and much of the town was under 4-5 feet of water. Even after the floodwaters receded, damage to the mill was not over. Legal action was initiated by the borough on grounds that the company had been negligent in its maintenance of the dam. In the end, the company was found liable for the disaster and restitution for the damage was mandated. This double blow spelled the end of the mill after 44 years of operation. Demolition of the plant began in April 1943. A fire of unknown origins gutted what remained of the mill that December. At last, the final domino had fallen.   

The mill site as it appears today
Image Retrieved From Google Maps

    Though it has been over 75 years since that last domino fell, its impact can still been seen and felt in Austin today. With the mill gone, few jobs remained. Residents left in droves to stake out a life elsewhere. Little economic growth has transpired in the borough even to this day. Remnants of the operation such as the mill and dams, are still visible today and can be visited within the Austin Dam Memorial Park. 

The moss covered timbers of the railroad trestle.
It's assumed that the tracks were once elevated to unload supplies to the mill
Author's Photo

The interior of the former stock house
Author's Photo

Information Retrieved From:

Austin (Bayless) Dam (Pennsylvania, 1911).(2019). Retrieved from https://damfailures.org/case-study/austin-bayless-dam-pennsylvania-1911/

Beebe, V. (1934). History of Potter County, Pennsylvania. Potter County Historical Society. Retrieved from: https://digital.libraries.psu.edu/digital/collection/digitalbks2/id/9468

Cameron County Press. (1904, June 9). Local department. Pennsylvania Newspaper Archive. Retrieved from: https://panewsarchive.psu.edu/lccn/sn83032040/1904-06-09/ed-1/seq-5/#city=&rows=20&proxtext=austin+pulp+mill&searchType=basic&sequence=0&index=2&words=Austin+mill+pulp&page=1 

 

Cameron County Press. (1905, April 6). The county. Pennsylvania Newspaper Archive. Retrieved From: https://panewsarchive.psu.edu/lccn/sn83032040/1905-04-06/ed-1/seq-8/#city=&rows=20&proxtext=austin+pulp+mill&searchType=basic&sequence=0&index=4&words=Austin+mill+pulp&page=1 

Department of the Interior (1952). Notable Local Floods of 1942-43. Retrieved from https://www.google.com/books/edition/Geological_Survey_Water_supply_Paper/0iJEB9fELsYC?hl=en&gbpv=1

Harrisburg Telegraph. (1916, January 6). Millionaire chooses jail to await outgrowth of Austin Flood charges. Pennsylvania Newspaper Archive. Retrieved from: https://panewsarchive.psu.edu/lccn/sn85038411/1916-01-07/ed-1/seq-2/#date1=01%2F01%2F1789&city=&date2=12%2F31%2F2010&searchType=advanced&language=&sequence=0&index=0&words=Bayless+manslaughter&county=&frequency=&ortext=&proxtext=&phrasetext=&andtext=bayless+manslaughter&rows=20&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1

Hills Publishing Company. Rapid winter work in rebuilding the Bayless pulp mill at Austin, Penna. Engineering News, 67. 159-160. Retrieved from: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Engineering_News/bilKAQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=austin

Lant, I. (n.d.). The Austin reader: the first one hundred years.

Largey, Gale. "The Austin Disaster 1911: A Chronicle of Human Character"

Paper Inc. (1917) Jenssen two tower acid system. Paper, 19. 26. Retrieved from https://www.google.com/books/edition/Paper/p6wfAQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0

Pennsylvania Water Supply Commission. (1912). Annual Report of the Water Supply Commission. Retrieved from: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Report_of_the_Water_Supply_Commission_of/K_lKAAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1

Pennsylvania Water Supply Commission. (1912). Annual Report of the Water Supply Commission. Retrieved from: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Report_of_the_Water_Supply_Commission_of/G9NMAQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1

Poor's Manual Company (1917). Poor's Manual of Industrials 1917. Retrieved from https://www.google.com/books/edition/Poor_s_Manual_of_Industrials_Manufacturi/CmY3AQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0

Seward,W.(1924). Binghamton and Broome County New York: A History. Retrieved from https://www.google.com/books/edition/Binghamton_and_Broome_County_New_York/VdMn8wXJ5iUC?hl=en&gbpv=1