Johnsonburg Commercial Historic District
Why it's listed
Brick commercial buildings of two and three stories line Market and Center Streets in the central business district of Johnsonburg, Elk County, built mostly between 1890 and the late 1930s. The town grew around the lumber, tanning and paper industries, and the New York and Pennsylvania Company paper mill just north of the district became one of the largest in the country. The most prominent building is the Anderson Brick Block at 523-569 Market Street, built in the 1890s by the Armstrong Real Estate and Improvement Company, with twelve storefronts behind a cantilevered sandstone arcade and apartments above. The district also includes the Johnsonburg National Bank building, the Italianate-derived Zierden and Howell Buildings, and the 1919 Johnsonburg Community Center, which the mill built with a pool, bowling alleys and a performing hall for the community. Its architecture spans Italianate, Colonial Revival, Neo-Classical and Art Deco styles, and it reflects the town's commercial history from the 1890s through the 1940s.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the district is significant under Criterion A for commerce as a local mercantile center reflecting the community's commercial life, and for industry because the town's existence and appearance are tied to the wood products industries of logging, tanning and paper production. It is also significant under Criterion C for its concentration of late nineteenth and early twentieth century architecture in Italianate, Colonial and Neo-Classical Revival, and Art Deco styles, and for its association with several regionally prominent architects and builders.
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 99001290, listed October 28, 1999. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Roughly along Center, Bridge, and Market Sts., Johnsonburg |
|---|---|
| County | Elk County |
| Listed | October 28, 1999 |
| Reference number | 99001290 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | 1890-1949 |
| Architect / builder | Welsh, P.A.; Orner, Frank; Hyde-Murphy Company; Kinnear, J. Vick; Lippert and Love |
| Architectural style | Italianate; Colonial Revival; Neo-Classical Revival; Art Deco |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture, Commerce, Industry |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Some rehabilitation activity was beginning at the time of writing, including exterior painting, signage improvements, and awnings. |
| Acreage | 6 |
| Coordinates | 41.48889, -78.67494 (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 99001290.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q6268517
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.