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History · Ashville

Ashville dates to 1842, and 34% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1902 on, and the census since 1890.

1842founded
0on the National Register
34%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Ashville’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Ashville began

When was Ashville founded?

1842

Ashville dates its founding to 1842 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1890.

First census: 289 in 18902020 census: 213184 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1886.

What stands out about Ashville’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19023 editions of the USGS map, 1902 to 1972. Watch Ashville change.Boom and bustPeaked at 511 in 1940; 213 people lived here in 2020.Deep rootsEstablished in 1842: 184 years of Ashville.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Ashville’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old view1940 Census Enumeration District Descri…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Ashville on the map, 1902 to 1972

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

Ashville on the 1902 USGS mapAshville on the 1961 USGS mapAshville on the 1972 USGS map1902Patton 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 Ashville.

People over time

Ashville, census by census

01002003004005001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 511

Peaked at 511 in 1940; 213 people lived here in 2020.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

The story so far

Ashville, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Ashville yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Ashville is a borough in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area. However, it is much closer to Altoona and is often considered a suburb of the latter. The population was 213 at the 2020 census.

Ashville was established in 1842. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 227 to 213 (-6%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Ashville in 1907

Passages that mention Ashville, cut from the printed page as they were published.

is derived from the "'Clear Fields" — a few small acres of cleared ground on which the Indians raised maize, located along its valley near the old Kittanning path, not far from the present town of Ashville. John Storm, or Sturm, is said to have erected a grist mill on the Clearfield creek, near Lor…
History of Cambria County, Pennsylvania1907 · page 217Read the page →
Read the text

is derived from the "'Clear Fields" — a few small acres of cleared ground on which the Indians raised maize, located along its valley near the old Kittanning path, not far from the present town of Ashville. John Storm, or Sturm, is said to have erected a grist mill on the Clearfield creek, near Loretto in 1792, now Seibert's mill, Dawson Station, on the railroad.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Timeline

Ashville, 1842 to 1940

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1842
    FoundingAshville is established
  3. 1850In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Pennsylvania - Cambria County - ED 11-4, …
  4. 1886Post officeThe Ashville post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1902On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1940CensusPopulation peaks at 511
By decade

Ashville, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1850s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1850s1 item
1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Pennsylvania - Cambria County - ED 11-4, ED 11-5, ED 11-6, ED 11-7, ED …18501940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Penns…
Today5 recent
PA 53 nb entering Dean Twp., Cambria Co., Aug. 20242024PA 53 nb entering Dean Twp., Cambria Co., Aug. 2024PA 36 sb-PA 53 nb in Ashville, Aug. 20242024PA 36 sb-PA 53 nb in Ashville, Aug. 2024Ashville, Pennsylvania2012Ashville, PennsylvaniaAshville, Pennsylvania2012Ashville, PennsylvaniaAshville, Pennsylvania2012Ashville, Pennsylvania
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Pennsylvania - Cambria County - ED 11-4, ED 11-5, ED 11-6, ED 11-7, ED …
Retake this view1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Pennsylvania - Cambria County - ED 11-4, ED 11-5, ED 11-6, ED 11-7, ED …, 1850

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Ashville’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Ashville

Nobody well known was born in Ashville itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Robert PearyExplorer from the United States · b. 1856
Charlie CristUnited States Representative from 2017 to 2022 · b. 1956
Michael BeheAmerican biochemist, author, and intelligent de… · b. 1952
Janet BlairActress · b. 1921
A
Andrew Kevin WalkerAmerican screenwriter · b. 1964
Paul WinterAmerican saxophonist · b. 1939
Places that used to be

Places now gone

Ashville’s post office has been open since 1886.

Gone or out of use
Ashville Post Officepost office

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Clearfield TownshipIts storyC+Gallitzin TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Ashville’s history

What year was Ashville founded?

In 1842, according to Wikidata. Ashville’s post office opened in 1886, and the census of 1890 counted 289 people here.

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 (6), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.