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History · Johnstown

Johnstown’s post office opened in 1839, and 41% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1893 on.

1839first post office
0on the National Register
41%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Johnstown began

When was Johnstown founded?

1839

The Johnstown post office opened in 1839, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Johnstown Centre (1850) and Johnstown Center (1890), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 766187 years
Founding year: the first Johnstown post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

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.On the map since 18933 editions of the USGS map, 1893 to 1971. Watch Johnstown change.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Johnstown, and 1 old place names are still on the map.Deep rootsA post office since 1839: 187 years of Johnstown.
★ 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.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Johnstown on the map, 1893 to 1971

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 1893 USGS mapJohnstown on the 1961 USGS mapJohnstown on the 1971 USGS map1893Shopiere 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.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Johnstown had its own post office from 1839 to 1902. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Johnstown
1839–1902
Johnstown Centre
1850–1890
Johnstown Center
1890–1903
18301930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Johnstown Center
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Johnstown
North JohnstownOld Johnstown

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

The story so far

Johnstown, in brief

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

The Town of Johnstown is a town located in Rock County, Wisconsin, United States. The unincorporated community of Johnstown Center is located in the town.

Its first post office opened in 1839. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 778 in 2010, 766 in 2020.

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

Timeline

Johnstown, 1839 to 1903

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1839Post officeThe Johnstown post office opens
  3. 1850Post officeThe Johnstown Centre post office opens
  4. 1870Born hereGeorge W. Hull is born here
  5. 1890Post officeThe Johnstown Centre post office closes
  6. 1890Post officeThe Johnstown Center post office opens
  7. 1893On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 20th century
  9. 1902Post officeThe Johnstown post office closes
  10. 1903Post officeThe Johnstown Center post office closes
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Richmond1 historic placeB+LimaIts storyB+HarmonyIts storyC−Bradford2 historic placesA

Questions about Johnstown’s history

What year was Johnstown founded?

The Johnstown post office opened in 1839, 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 →
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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 Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.