Parsing Grand Intent: The Hidden Path to the Johnstown Flood

Join us in the Heritage Discovery Center courtyard for Mark Kohar's presentation of his exciting new book, Parsing Grand Intent: The Hidden Path to the Johnstown Flood! The event will include complimentary drinks and light hors d'oeuvres. We gratefully acknowledge Bob Eyer for helping make this event possible!

History’s greatest tragedies are rarely sudden—they are built, piece by piece, over time.

Parsing Grand Intent is a powerful work of nonfiction that uncovers the long, intricate chain of events behind one of the deadliest disasters in American history: the Johnstown Flood of 1889. While the catastrophe itself unfolded in mere minutes, its origins stretch back more than half a century—rooted in innovation, ambition, and ultimately, neglect.

In the early 1800s, America was a nation on the rise, driven by bold infrastructure projects and a hunger for expansion. At the center of this story is the Pennsylvania Main Line Canal, a groundbreaking 394-mile transportation system designed to connect Philadelphia to the western frontier. What began as a visionary solution to economic opportunity would set into motion a series of unintended consequences.

Through richly detailed storytelling and meticulous historical insight, Parsing Grand Intent reveals how decades of decisions, both deliberate and overlooked, converged into a single devastating moment. The book weaves together three interconnected narratives—of progress, human ambition, and the fragile balance between nature and engineering.

About Mark Kohart: 

Mark Kohart, a native of South Fork, PA, is a retired Navy Captain (0-6) and F-14 pilot with more than 3,000 tactical flight hours and 680 carrier landings. He graduated from Pennsylvania State University in 1982 and earned his Wings of Gold as a Naval Aviator in August 1984. Assigned to the F-14 Tomcat, he was named the Navy’s East Coast Fighter Pilot of the Year and Aircraft Carrier Pilot of the Year in 1994. He commanded the “Checkmates” of Fighter Squadron VF-211 and the Navy’s Center for Security Forces. After a 26.5-year military career, he continued to serve in technology-related roles with the Department of Defense and the aerospace industry. Mark holds two master’s degrees and is the South Fork Historical Society’s cofounder and president. In 2017, he returned home to South Fork for good, where he and his wife, Patricia, live in a home they built in the country, just three miles from the South Fork Dam.