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B+History
History · Southmont

Southmont dates to 1850, and 50% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 75% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Its Register listing is the Grandview Cemetery. Below: maps from 1904 on and the census since 1920.

1850founded
1on the National Register
50%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Southmont began

When was Southmont founded?

1850

Southmont dates its founding to 1850 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1920.

First census: 281 in 19202020 census: 2,045176 years

How historic is Southmont?

B+

More historic than 75% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata.
History grade

What drives Southmont’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Southmont is more historic than 75% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Southmont’s overall grade.
Founding era1850, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194050.2% of homes (±6.5) · typical PA town 17.7% · U.S. 8.4%A+National Register1 listing, 4.9 per 10,000 residents · typical PA town 2.1 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 75%
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 Southmont’s 4.9 sits above most of its state (67% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1850.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.5 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 Southmont’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 Southmont are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Southmont’s homes were built before 1938.Boom and bustPeaked at 2,857 in 1960; 2,045 people lived here in 2020.On the map since 19043 editions of the USGS map, 1904 to 1972. Watch Southmont change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Southmont’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Southmont, in brief

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

Southmont is a borough in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2020 census, Southmont had a population of 2,045. It was incorporated in 1919 out of Upper Yoder Township.

Southmont was established in 1850. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 2,284 to 2,045 (-10%).

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

People over time

Southmont, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,000192019401960198020002020Peak: 2,857

Peaked at 2,857 in 1960; 2,045 people lived here in 2020.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

Timeline

Southmont, 1850 to 1960

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1850
    FoundingSouthmont is established
  3. 20th century
  4. 1904On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1960CensusPopulation peaks at 2,857
By decade

Southmont, decade by decade

Today1 recent
King from Dahlia2018King from Dahlia
On the map

Southmont on the map, 1904 to 1972

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

Southmont on the 1904 USGS mapSouthmont on the 1964 USGS mapSouthmont on the 1972 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 Southmont.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Southmont

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
2025
Grandview Cemetery
Grandview Cemetery
Sites
All 1 listings
Grandview CemeterySite · listed 2025

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Westmont2 historic placesAElimIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townUpper Yoder TownshipIts storyB−Johnstown11 historic placesA+

Questions about Southmont’s history

What year was Southmont founded?

In 1850, according to Wikidata. the census of 1920 counted 281 people here.

How does Southmont rank for history?

Southmont is more historic than 75% 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 Southmont?

One place: the Grandview Cemetery (listed 2025).

How old are the homes in Southmont?

50% of Southmont’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.5 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1938.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.