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History · South Fork

South Fork’s post office opened in 1873, and 59% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1904 on, and the census since 1890.

1873first post office
0on the National Register
59%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From South Fork’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How South Fork began

When was South Fork founded?

1873

The South Fork post office opened in 1873, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1887.

First census: 1,295 in 18902020 census: 954153 years
Founding year: the first South Fork post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1887.

What stands out about South Fork’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 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of South Fork’s homes were built before 1938.Boom and bustPeaked at 4,592 in 1910; 954 people lived here in 2020.On the map since 19045 editions of the USGS map, 1904 to 1993. Watch South Fork change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start South Fork’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewSouth Fork, Cambria County, Pennsylvani…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

South Fork, in brief

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

South Fork is a borough in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2020 census, South Fork had a population of 954.

Its first post office opened in 1873. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 928 to 954 (+3%).

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

People over time

South Fork, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 4,592

Peaked at 4,592 in 1910; 954 people lived here in 2020.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

From the old history books

What they wrote about South Fork in 1907

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

This bend in the river is crossed by two iron bridges — one above Sipe's mill on the township road leading to Southern Croyle and the other below, on the road to South Fork. From Bridge No. 4 the bend continues a short distance, when, curving slightly to the left, the river makes a bend of half a m…
History of Cambria County, Pennsylvania1907 · page 225Read the page →
Read the text

This bend in the river is crossed by two iron bridges — one above Sipe's mill on the township road leading to Southern Croyle and the other below, on the road to South Fork. From Bridge No. 4 the bend continues a short distance, when, curving slightly to the left, the river makes a bend of half a mile, and then several shorter curves, receiving a large run from the vicinity of Webster Mines, after which it once more approaches the Pennsylvania railroad at Ehrenfeld Station, from which

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
port was completed that year the transfer was made at that place. Passengers and freight were transferred by teams from Beatty's station to Lockport. The road from Conemaugh to South Fork was used by the Pennsylvania railroad, and the Portage railroad, which were connected by a bridge constructed a…
History of Cambria County, Pennsylvania1907 · page 587Read the page →
Read the text

port was completed that year the transfer was made at that place. Passengers and freight were transferred by teams from Beatty's station to Lockport. The road from Conemaugh to South Fork was used by the Pennsylvania railroad, and the Portage railroad, which were connected by a bridge constructed across the Conemaugh river just west of the overhead bridge at that place. The transfers of cars were made at the basin. The old bridge was taken down about 1875.

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

South Fork, 1873 to 1954

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1873Post officeThe South Fork post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1900In the archiveSouth Fork, Cambria County, Pennsylvania 1900
  5. 1904On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1910CensusPopulation peaks at 4,592
  7. 1954Born hereElma Bellini is born here
By decade

South Fork, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s2 items
South Fork, Cambria County, Pennsylvania 19001900South Fork, Cambria County, Pennsylvania 1900South Fork, Cambria County, Pennsylvania 19001900South Fork, Cambria County, Pennsylvania 1900
1910s–1990snothing 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 album
Today4 recent
Most Holy Trinity Church, South Fork, PA, Aug. 20242024Most Holy Trinity Church, South Fork, PA, Aug. 2024Entering South Fork, PA on Railroad Street wb, Aug. 20242024Entering South Fork, PA on Railroad Street wb, Aug. 2…Entering South Fork, PA on Lake Street nb, Aug. 20242024Entering South Fork, PA on Lake Street nb, Aug. 2024Entering Ehrenfeld, PA on 2nd Street eb, Aug. 20242024Entering Ehrenfeld, PA on 2nd Street eb, Aug. 2024
On the map

South Fork on the map, 1904 to 1993

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

South Fork on the 1904 USGS mapSouth Fork on the 1964 USGS mapSouth Fork on the 1972 USGS mapSouth Fork on the 1981 USGS mapSouth Fork on the 1993 USGS map1904Johnstown 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 South Fork.

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.

South Fork, Cambria County, Pennsylvania 1900
Retake this viewSouth Fork, Cambria County, Pennsylvania 1900, 1900

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

Retake this view · +15
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Croyle Township1 historic placeA−Adams Township2 historic placesAEast Taylor TownshipIts storyB−

Questions about South Fork’s history

What year was South Fork founded?

The South Fork post office opened in 1873, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1887.

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), 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), 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.