"Johnstown Gals" is an old-time breakdown known in southwestern Pennsylvania in G Major. The parts are played AB. Johnstown, in western Pennsylvania, was the scene of the flood of May 31, 1889, after the catastrophic failure of the South Fork Dam, located on the south fork of the Little Conemaugh River 14 miles upstream of the town. 2,208 people were killed in the disaster. There were also floods in 1894, 1907, 1924, 1936, and 1977. The banjo tablature is by John Letscher who says that it is from the playing of Todd Clewell and John Lamancusa. He playes the parts AA'BB'. This version was collected from Mrs. Sarah Armstrong, (near) Derry, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania on November 18, 1943 by Samuel Bayard. It was printed in Bayard's Hill Country Tunes (1944). He pairs this tune with "Hagantown Gals" under the heading of "Buffalo Gals".