About

“I love it here, in Johnstown,… good community- good neighbors- it’s a friendly town!“

Welcome to the history of my Ohio hometown, Johnstown. Here I will share a brief overview of the region to give you the reader a basic understanding of how Johnstown has adapted and grown over the centuries.

Founded in 1813, the town of Johnstown is located at 40°8′57″N 82°41′12″W in Licking County, twenty six miles North East of Ohio’s capital: Columbus.

Johnstown’s history begins nearly 14,000 years ago when the area that would become Licking County was still covered in glaciers at the end of the last Ice Age. As the ice melted away, animals such as mastodons (the skeleton of which Johnstown is famous for), giant beavers, and wolves moved into the area, attracted to the fertile forests and salt banks lining the Licking River. These giant animals were followed by early Native Americans hunting for food.

Thousands of years later and the American Colonists won their independence from the British occupation in the Revolutionary War.  After the Revolutionary War ended, the new American government struggled with debts, both to its allies and its own citizens. In order to pay its citizens, Congress claimed lands located in Central Ohio and named these lands the United States Military District. The modern-day Noble, Guernsey, Tuscarawas, Muskingum, Coshocton, Holmes, Licking, Knox, Franklin, Delaware, Morrow, and Marion Counties were the lands covered by the United States Military District. The village of Johnstown is located in what would become Licking County in the United States Military District. This area of land was given to Revolutionary War soldiers as payment for their service

The area was part of Fairfield County until 1808, when Licking County was formed. In 1810, Brown sold the property for $2.50 per acre to Dr. Oliver Bigelow from New York. Dr. Bigelow laid out and created the village of Johnstown, donating the streets and the town square.

After being founded by Dr. Oliver Bigelow, Johnstown grew slowly until 1880. Surrounded by small streams, woods, and farmland, Johnstown is very similar in appearance to most other small central Ohio towns.Around this time, Johnstown started to act as the center of activity for Monroe, Liberty and Jersey Townships. The economy of the area was based on agriculture, and therefore a lot  of the businesses in the village at the time served agricultural needs. This is due the soil quality, which the federal government now refers to as ‘Prime farmland’. Due to fertile soil, natural fields and forests are exceptionally healthy. Underground water reserves allowed settlers to create wells to keep themselves and their animals hydrated.  Schools were built fairly early in the town’s history, both in the village and in the surrounding areas (as shown by the one room school house which still stand today. Residents laid out local roads throughout the countryside. The earliest churches established in Johnstown were the Methodist Episcopal, Presbyterian and Baptist churches. Germans from Pennsylvania and from Germany brought Lutheran and Reformed churches and numerous smaller sects such as the Amish. Yankees brought Presbyterians and Congregationalists. Revivals during the Second Great Awakening spurred the growth of Methodist, Baptist and Church of Christ churches.

In the twentieth century, the introduction of the automobile changed many aspect of life in Johnstown.  The introduction of the automobile meant that roads needed to be updated from the narrow potholed dirt or brick roads into wider roads that were made out of harder surfaces. Surfaces such as brick or pavement, which led to increased demand for the goods necessary to create these goods. The addition of paved roads and the increasing popularity of the automobile created stiff competition for the railroad line that traveled through town. As roads and automobiles improved, the railway became more and more obsolete until the passenger portion of the railway shut down in 1935. With the advances to the automobile industry and roads, both the state and local governments also had to pass laws to regulate automobile traffic and protect Ohio citizens. By the time that World War II started, all roads within the vicinity of Johnstown were paved.

With the introduction of newer and better cars, after World War II, citizens were able to live farther away from their work. This led to more people moving away from the cities and into smaller towns. This resulted in the expansion of towns like Johnstown, due to the fact that new homes are needed. This need for new housing led to the creation of suburbs surrounding the original town. These new housing developments had a different layout than the grid-like layout in the center of town. Anther easy way to determine which are the newer houses is the distance between the road and the house. Homes that are close to the road were typically built in a time when automobiles weren’t as popular (Horses weren’t as loud as cars). With the increase in new families, there was an increase in demand for food and other supplies which led to more expansion. Due to the automobile, these stores could be placed farther away from the center of town than they could have in the past. Another result of the increase in families is the need for schools. Johnstown currently has four school buildings: Oregon Elementary, Searfoss Elementary, Adams Middle School, and Johnstown Monroe High School. Due to the age and declining conditions of these schools, construction has begun to replace the two Elementary schools and the High School. For work, most people nowadays who live in Johnstown work elsewhere, usually Columbus or New Albany.

While there may not always be a lot to do in Johnstown, it is my home town and I am proud of it. I am glad to have had this opportunity to learn about my home and share what I have learned with you, the reader. I hope that you have enjoyed this brief overview of Johnstown’s history and I hope that you enjoy the rest of my blog.

Go Johnnies!