Located in the southwest area of Pennsylvania, Johnstown is a city with a population of about 24,000. Summers are warm in Johnstown, with highs in the 70s and winters are cold with highs in the 20s. The average snowfall is 55 inches. Those moving to Johnstown will discover a city that has recovered nicely from its disastrous past to become a progressive city and anyone moving to Johnstown will find a city with a bright future.
Economy:
As recently as 2003, Johnstown was a city that was in deep troubles economically. Primarily a coal and steel town, both of those industries dried up and unemployment was quite high. But the city has done a remarkable job in turning that all around and becoming a center for high-tech jobs and industry. While the median household income is half that of the state average, the cost of living in Johnstown is considerably less than the national average. Unemployment is 10 percent. Top employers in Johnstown are Penn Machine, Concurrent Technologies, Gamesa Corporación Tecnológica, Lockheed Martin and the NDIC.
History:
Explorers came to the area as early as 1731. The very first known settlers in the area were the Solomon's, and several of them were killed by Indians and the rest fled the area. Johnstown was later organized as a town by German immigrant Josef Schantz in 1800. The township changed owners several times between the years of 1800 and 1818. The town became a port from 1834 to 1854 along the Pennsylvania Main Line Canal. The railroad arrived in 1854 and the town began to grow. Iron and coal became major industries in the city. While floods were a problem there, it was in 1889 that a dam burst and completely destroyed the town and killed over 2,000 people. Clara Barton came to the town with doctors and relief supplies. The city was rebuilt. In 1938 the Army Corps of Engineers built levies and re-channeled the river, making the city virtually flood-free. In the years following World War II, the city became a leader in the steel industry, but that went bust in the 1980s. After 2000, the city remade itself into a center for technology, industry and became an award-winning city.
Tourism:
The Johnstown Flood Memorial is open to visitors. The Flood Museum recreates the flood in exhibits. There is also a Path of the Flood hiking and biking trail. The coal miner's Miner's Memorial Museum is open seasonally. You can tour the Seldom Seen Coal Mine in the summer months. The Portage Station Museum is a Pennsylvania railroad museum. The Johnstown Heritage Discovery Center has exhibits that present America through the eyes of immigrants. You can tour the Wagner-Ritter house which was built in 1860. Johnstown has many art galleries, a symphony orchestra and several theater companies. In August there is the Flood City Music Festival and in June there is a Thunder in the Valley Motorcycle Rally.