Posted: February 6, 2025 11:08 am
On Thursday, January 23, water damage was discovered at the Johnstown Flood Museum, caused by a heating system valve that sprung a leak due to extreme cold temperatures. One of our docents, Nikki Bosley, went to the archives to work that day, and heard dripping – she investigated, found damp areas and some water, and sounded the alarm. No one was there when the leak began, likely in the middle of the night — and we are closed midweek anyway during the winter. Heritage Johnstown staff immediately began the process of assessing the damage, and drew a big sigh of relief when it became apparent that nothing of historical significance was affected.
Local media picked up the story, and soon an article appeared online in The Guardian: “Pennsylvania flood museum temporarily closed due to flooding.” From there, little articles recycling the information from local media, Heritage Johnstown’s social media, and The Guardian started popping up online with titles like, “Pennsylvania flood museum closed for exactly the reason you’d think.”
Shelley Johansson, Heritage Johnstown’s communications director, hadn’t predicted this, but she wasn’t exactly surprised. “I’ve been doing media long enough to know that sometimes a story that’s perceived as quirky will get legs,” she says. “Put it this way — I’m confident that if the leak had happened at the Heritage Discovery Center, it wouldn’t have gotten nearly this much non-local media interest. When that happens, your best bet is to ride the wave, so to speak, and try to make something positive out of it.”
She was contacted by Inside Edition Digital for an interview, which was edited into a four-minute piece about not only the leak, but the story of the flood itself. The story combines Shelley’s Zoom interview with stock footage, historic images of the flood, and photos of the museum. It posted to Inside Edition’s website and to YouTube on Feb. 5, where as of 10:00 am the next day it had already racked up more than 18,300 views.
;
As for the museum damage, the water remediation team from ServMate worked diligently to dry out walls, ceilings, and floors. Their work concluded on Feb. 4, and Heritage Johnstown is moving on to repainting, refinishing of floors, and replacement of carpet. It’s too soon to have a concrete reopening date, but we fully expect to be open by early spring.
The Johnstown Flood Museum’s losses are largely covered by insurance. But we’d like to remind you that no museum organization supports itself with museum admissions alone, and we are currently conducting our Annual Fund Drive. If you have donated, we thank you – if you haven’t, we encourage you to consider supporting the Johnstown Flood Museum and Heritage Johnstown’s broader mission at the link below.
