Fort Peck Dam Landslide Memorial - Fort Peck, Montana - Disaster Memorials on Waymarking.com

The Fort Peck Dam is one of the largest dams in the United States and one of the largest earth-filled dams in the world. Constructed under the New Deal, it was one of the largest employers of the program. Tens of thousands of workers labored to construct the dam, and several perished during that time. The most dramatic event occurred on September 22, 1938, when a portion of the largely-completed earthen dam suddenly sunk and gave way. Eight workers died during that incident, with only two bodies being recovered. The remaining six are said to be entombed within the dam.

You can read a detailed account of the slide atwww.fortpeckdam.com/historypages/?p=13 (visit link)

The posted coordinates will bring you to a memorial stone, on which the following is engraved:
IN MEMORY OF THOSE WHO LOST THEIR LIVES IN “THE SLIDE” SEPTEMBER 22, 1938
OLIVER BUCHER
JOHN I. JOHNSON
WALTER LUBBINGE
ARCHIE R. MOIR
DOUGLAS J. MOORE
DOLPHIE PAULSON
ALBERT V. STOESER
NELSON P. VAN STONE
FOREVER
ENTOMBED
IN THE DAM

Nearby is an sign where an brief account of the disaster is given:

The Slide of ‘38
The Day The Dam Gave Way
It was a quiet day, September 22, 1938, and work on the Fort Peck Dam was nearing completion. But the quiet would not last. At 1:15 that afternoon, the upstream portion of the east end of the embankment gave way.
As the earth started shaking, dredge pipes and railroad tracks shifted and sank. A massive section of the dam swung out into the pool, like a great earthen gate hinged on the east abutment. Machinery and men alike were swallowed up as 5 million cubic yards of earth slid out into the reservoir, forming an island.
Eight men lost their lives that day. Six are still buried in the dam .A board of inquiry met to study the accident, reporting that the slide’s occurrence was due to shearing resistance of the weathered shale and bentonite seams in the foundation that were insufficient to withstand such forces.
Thirteen months later, on October 11, 1940, the last load of material finalized construction of the dam, topping it out at a height of 250 feet. Since completion, Fort Peck Dam has proven to be a safe, stable and reliable structure

Disaster Date: 09/22/1938 Memorial Sponsors: US Corp of Engineers Parking Coordinates: N 48° 00.500 W 106° 24.016 Disaster Type: Technological Relevant Website: [Web Link] Date of dedication: Not listed

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