Old Conemaugh Borough Historic District
Why it's listed
Along the crescent-shaped Railroad Street, on the slope above the old Pennsylvania Mainline Canal basin in Johnstown, sits a working-class neighborhood of plank and balloon-frame houses built between about 1850 and 1934. The district grew from a canal settlement opened in 1831 and later housed mill workers from the Gautier Division of the Cambria Iron Company, which manufactured wire from 1878. Company-built double houses on Gautier and Chapin Streets, built after 1878 for mill workers, remain largely intact. The district holds Johnstown's oldest neighborhood business strip, anchored by the American House of 1832, a Federal-style canal hotel. Its churches and schools include St. Joseph's German Catholic Church of 1868, which survived the 1889 flood. Several Victorian mansions, including Second Empire and Queen Anne houses, stand among the closely packed vernacular homes. The district's architecture is valued for its unusually complete mid-to-late nineteenth-century character.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the district is significant for its link to the Gautier Division of the Cambria Iron Company, which employed many residents and supplied company housing, and for its canal-era commercial area along Railroad Street. It also argues the district is significant for its well-preserved vernacular architecture and its small group of high-style Federal, Greek Revival, Second Empire, Queen Anne and Gothic Revival buildings.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 95001253, listed November 7, 1995. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | Roughly bounded by Railroad, Adams, and Steel Sts., and Church Ave., Johnstown |
|---|---|
| County | Cambria County |
| Listed | November 7, 1995 |
| Reference number | 95001253 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | 1832-1934 |
| Architect / builder | Walter R. Myton (architect for Central Catholic school and parsonage); C. C. Hornick and Otto M. Hornick (builders) |
| Architectural style | Queen Anne; Second Empire; Greek Revival; Federal; Gothic Revival; Romanesque Revival; vernacular |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Commerce, Industry, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Some buildings are vacant or altered; the former Hudson Street School is described as vacant, and the 740 Railroad Street storefront is described as vacated and threatened with demolition. |
| Acreage | 33 |
| Coordinates | 40.32711, -78.91071 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 95001253.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7083756
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.