Editing Lewistown, Pennsylvania (section)

===20th century===
Lewistown lost its role as a major transportation hub, but still boasted a strong industrial economy into the 1970s, when the county's industries began a slow decline.

The effects of [[Hurricane Agnes]] in June 1972 crippled the local economy. On June 19, Hurricane Agnes made initial landfall along the [[Florida Panhandle]] as a weak Category 1 [[Hurricane]]. Agnes proceeded through [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]], [[South Carolina]] and [[North Carolina]] before moving over the [[Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic]] off the North Carolina coast on June 21.

After regaining strength over the Atlantic, the storm made landfall again over southeastern [[New York (state)|New York]] on June 22 and moved westward in an arc over southern New York into north-central Pennsylvania. Hurricane Agnes became nearly stationary over Pennsylvania by morning of June 23, but was soon absorbed by a low-pressure system that slowly drifted northeastward from Pennsylvania into New York.

Rainfall from the storm over the [[Mid-Atlantic States|Mid-Atlantic region]] ranged from {{convert|2|to|3|in|mm}} in the extreme upper basins of the [[Potomac River|Potomac]] and North Branch [[Susquehanna River]]s to {{convert|18|in|mm}} near [[Shamokin, Pennsylvania]], in the Main Stem Susquehanna River basin. An average of {{convert|6|to|10|in|mm}} of rain fell over the Mid-Atlantic region. The soil, already well watered by spring rains, could not absorb so much water so quickly.

While flooding from the [[Juniata River]] was somewhat controlled due to a dam at [[Raystown Lake]], {{convert|44|mi|km}} west of Lewistown, the county suffered extensive flooding from the river and major streams. This resulted in the permanent closure of many businesses along the river.

Most notably, the flood submerged much of the [[American Viscose Corporation]] plant, then a division of FMC Corporation. The facility, located on the banks of the Juniata River across from Lewistown proper, manufactured rayon fiber (primarily for rayon-belted automobile tires), polyester, and Avistrap.

FMC was one of two major employers in the area at the time, the other being the Standard Steel Works. The Viscose plant was only marginally profitable before the storm, and the cost to reopen was prohibitive. The demand for rayon fabric for trendy clothing shot upward a few years later. Rayon production, and with it, thousands of good-paying jobs, moved to another FMC plant in [[Front Royal, Virginia]]. The Lewistown polyester plant reopened, but it rehired only a fraction of the previous workforce. The site eventually became the Mifflin County Industrial Plaza and a variety of businesses have come and gone since then.

In the wake of the failure of Lewistown's industry, a long period of decline began. The 1990s saw the loss of several plants, including Masland and Lear, and Standard Steel filing for reorganization bankruptcy.