Due to an interior water leak on 1/23/25 caused by the recent extreme cold, the Johnstown Flood Museum ONLY is temporarily closed. Thankfully, nothing of historic significance was affected. As of 2/4, the water remediation team has concluded their work, which leaves repainting, floor refinishing, and replacement of carpet and soundproofing materials. We are currently waiting for insurance adjustors, a process we cannot control. In the meantime, we apologize for any inconvenience and appreciate your patience as we work to remediate and repair our beloved flagship museum.

In the meantime, we are pleased to present Relic Tales of the Johnstown Floods at the Heritage Discovery Center, which is unaffected and operating normal business hours. This new temporary exhibition includes more than 200 artifacts and photographs, many of which have never been on display before, from the Johnstown flood of 1889 (as well as 1936 and 1977).  Welcome!

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More Links of Interest

A few more links about Johnstown history of interest to researchers.

morleysmallLibrary of Congress holdings

Other resources

  • America’s Industrial Heritage publications about Southwestern Pennsylvania: Completed in the late 80s and early 90s, these books about a nine-county region of Southwestern Pennsylvania were a project of the National Park Service. Digitized copies can be accessed at the link above. Of particular interest to JAHA and our audiences is “The Character of a Steel Mill City: Four Historic Neighborhoods of Johnstown, PA,” which gives a wonderful overview of Johnstown, Downtown, Cambria City/Minersville, and Westmont; and “Historic Resource Study: Cambria Iron Company.” Great information about Windber can be found in “A Legacy of Coal: The Coal Company Towns of Southwestern PA.”
  • Cambria County Historical Society — The CCHS site provides information about the society’s mission and services.
  • Sanborn Fire Insurance maps — These maps were developed by the Sanborn Insurance Company to assess fire risk in various neighborhoods in Johnstown. They are among the best pre- and post-flood maps of Johnstown (available maps are dated 1886, 1891, 1895, and 1913), and have been digitized by Penn State University.
  • Southmont Centennial website — This website was developed to celebrate the 2019 centennial of Southmont, one of Johnstown’s historic neighborhoods.
  • Cambria Memory Project — Dr. Barbara Zaborowski of Penn Highlands Community College maintains this website, which is collecting and digitizing items associated with the history of the county. A variety of collections of photography and documents on topics like African-American history, Civil War, Cambria City churches, the Beth Sholom synagogue, and much more are available for perusal here.