The First Village
It was an Amish farmer, Joseph Schantz, who plotted and planned the first permanent settlement. Schantz arrived in Philadelphia from Switzerland in 1769 and set his sights westward. During his life-time he .used the name “Schantz” (Johns) on most of his land deeds and “Jantzin” (Johnson) in his family Bible records.

The original Campbell tract became the site of the village, but the land had several owners before it came into the hands of Joseph Johns. Campbell sold the land to James Wilkins in 1780. The tract then went to John Johnston in 1781, to James McLanahan in 1782 and then to Joseph Johns in 1793. Johns paid McLanahan 435 pounds, equivalent to $12,150 or $8.50 per acre.

In 1794--about one year after he bought the Campbell tract from McLanahan--Joseph Johns reached the site of his new purchase. He built a log cabin at the present intersection of Vine and Levergood Streets and then began to clear land for farming. Within the next six years he cultivated or cleared about 30 acres.

Anticipating the creation of a new county (Cambria County in 1804), Joseph Johns hoped that his land would be chosen as the county seat. With this in mind, he laid out the first village lots and streets in 1800. He called his settlement “Conemaugh Old Town.”

New Owners
On leaving his settlement in 1807, Johns sold the town to William Hartley and Dr. John Anderson for $5,000. They kept it three years and in 1808 sold out to John Holliday of the Juniata Valley. Holliday built an iron forge on the banks of the Stonycreek, but abandoned the project when a flood destroyed his equipment.

Holliday sold his holdings in Conemaugh Old Town to Peter Levergood for $8,000 in 1811. Two years later Levergood sold out to George Brenizer and Thomas Burell for $12,583.

However, Levergood eventually regained the property and became the town's most successful developer. In 1818, when Brenizer and Burrell could not make the payments agreed upon, Levergood bought the property back at sheriff sale for $6.18. Levergood kept the property in his possession until his death in 1860. When he died he left $50,000 in gold in a Johnstown bank.


Content source: Johnstown Pennslvania Historic Information
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