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History · Johnstown

Johnstown’s post office opened in 1883

Most of Johnstown was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1972. Below: maps from 1950 on and the census since 1920.

1883first post office
0on the National Register
9%homes built before 1940
1famous people
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Quick answers

How Johnstown began, and where its name came from

When was Johnstown founded?

1883

The Johnstown post office opened in 1883, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Evergreen (1881), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 290 in 19202020 census: 47143 years

How did Johnstown get its name?

Johnstown was named for John Berry, an original owner of the town site.

Founding year: the first Johnstown post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓

What stands out about Johnstown’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Johnstown are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Johnstown’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Johnstown’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story

How Johnstown came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Johnstown.

Read it all →

Johnstown was platted in 1883 when the Fremont, Elkhorn and Missouri Valley Railroad was extended to that point. It was named for John Berry, an original owner of the town site.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Johnstown, 1881 to 1951

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1881Post officeThe Evergreen post office opens
  3. 1883Post officeThe Evergreen post office closes
  4. 1883Post officeThe Johnstown post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1950On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1951Born hereRita Meyer is born here
By decade

Johnstown, decade by decade

Today3 recent
Johnstown, Nebraska Main Street 22012Johnstown, Nebraska Main Street 2Johnstown, Nebraska Main Street 12012Johnstown, Nebraska Main Street 1NEMap-doton-Johnstown2005NEMap-doton-Johnstown
On the map

Johnstown on the map, 1950 to 1985

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Johnstown. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Johnstown on the 1950 USGS mapJohnstown on the 1985 USGS map1950Wood Lake sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Johnstown.

People over time

Johnstown, census by census

0100200300192019401960198020002020Peak: 290

Between 47 and 290 people in every census since 1920.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Johnstown’s Wikipedia page.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Johnstown’s post office has been open since 1883. Another post office, Evergreen, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Evergreen
1881–1883
Johnstown
1883–today
18801950today

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Johnstown’s history

What year was Johnstown founded?

The Johnstown post office opened in 1883, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (3), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.