The story
Read it all →How Johnsonburg came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Johnsonburg.
The Johnsonburg Commercial Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
A+History
History · Johnsonburg
Johnsonburg dates to 1810, and 47% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 97% of U.S. towns. What drives it
1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 32 buildings. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1941 on, and the census since 1890.
1810founded
1on the National Register
47%homes built before 1940
5old photos & papers
Quick answers
How Johnsonburg began
When was Johnsonburg founded?
1810
Johnsonburg dates its founding to 1810 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1890.
First census: 1,280 in 18902020 census: 2,404216 years
How historic is Johnsonburg?
A+
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 97% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1864.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Johnsonburg’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Johnsonburg is more historic than 97% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its age lowest.
A+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Johnsonburg’s overall grade.
Founding era1810, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194046.6% of homes (±7.8) · typical PA town 17.7% · U.S. 8.4%A+National Register1 listing, 32 historic buildings, 132 per 10,000 residents · typical PA town 2.1 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 97%
NewerOlder
Pennsylvania towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Pennsylvania town has 2.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Johnsonburg’s 132 sits above most of its state (90% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 32 historic buildings outnumber those of 82% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1810.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.8 points).
Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Johnsonburg’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Johnsonburg, and 1 old place names are still on the map.A historic districtThe Johnsonburg Commercial Historic District takes in 32 historic buildings.Boom and bustPeaked at 5,400 in 1920; 2,404 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Johnsonburg’s homes were built before 1944.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds
Johnsonburg’s post office has been open since 1891. Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Johnsonburgh
Wilmarth
Rolfe
Johnsonburg
18601940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Rolfe
1cemetery inside Johnsonburg
Laurel Hill
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the National Register
1 listing protects 32 historic buildings
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
32
each building in a district counts
first listed
1999
Johnsonburg Commercial Historic District
Districts
Architectural styles listings
Italianate1
Victorian1
Classical Revival1
Colonial Revival1
Art Deco1
19th Century Revival1
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
People over time
Johnsonburg, census by census
Peaked at 5,400 in 1920; 2,404 people lived here in 2020.
14 censuses, 1890–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Johnsonburg’s Wikipedia page.
Timeline
Johnsonburg, 1810 to 1991
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1810FoundingJohnsonburg is established
- 1864Post officeThe Johnsonburgh post office opens
- 1865Post officeThe Johnsonburgh post office closes
- 1865Post officeThe Wilmarth post office opens
- 1879Post officeThe Wilmarth post office closes
- 1879Post officeThe Rolfe post office opens
- 1895
In the archiveJohnsonburg, Elk County, Pennsylvania - 20th century
- 1911Post officeThe Rolfe post office closes
- 1918
In the archiveBRandP801 - 1920CensusPopulation peaks at 5,400
- 1923
In the archiveJohnsonburg PA Presby PHS290 - 1941
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey - 1991
In the archiveALY 101 at Johnsonburg, PA in March 1991
By decade
Johnsonburg, decade by decade
4 decades in the archive, from the 1890s to the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
1890s–1920s4 items
18951930s–1980snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album1990s1 item
Today1 recent
2012On the map
Johnsonburg on the map, 1941 to 1981
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Johnsonburg. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1941Ridgway sheet · 1:62,500U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Johnsonburg.
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.
Retake this viewJohnsonburg, Elk County, Pennsylvania, 1895
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Johnsonburg’s page.
Retake this view · +15Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Johnsonburg
Nobody well known was born in Johnsonburg itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
J
Joanna ShieldsAmerican businesswomen, vice president and mana… · b. 1962
G
George AlbeeAmerican psychologist · b. 1921
Help out
Finish Johnsonburg’s story
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Questions about Johnsonburg’s history
What year was Johnsonburg founded?
In 1810, according to Wikidata. Johnsonburg’s post office opened in 1864, and the census of 1890 counted 1,280 people here.
How does Johnsonburg rank for history?
Johnsonburg is more historic than 97% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Johnsonburg?
One place: the Johnsonburg Commercial Historic District (listed 1999).
How old are the homes in Johnsonburg?
47% of Johnsonburg’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.8 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1944.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (6), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, 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.