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This section of the Johnstown Area Heritage Association Web site gives you more information about JAHA as an organization, and how you can be a part of what we do. Choose from the navigation bar to the left to learn more.
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| | Research, Preservation & Special Projects | JAHA undertakes a wide variety of projects that help us fulfill our mission, often partnering with other agencies and community organizations. This page offers a sampling of some of these projects and is not by any means comprehensive.
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The Cambria City Design Charrettes-- Five ethnic Catholic churches in the National Historic District of Cambria City were merged in 2009, leaving three historically and architecturally significant churches vacant. JAHA is working with Partners for Sacred Places, a non-profit organization from Philadelphia, as well as the Johnstown Redevelopment Authority and the local grassroots organization Save Our Steeples on ways to preserve these churches (Immaculate Conception, Sts. Casimir & Emerich, and St. Columba). In November 2010 a design charrette was held with more than 100 Johnstown residents in attendance, and several architects and design professionals developed concepts for ways these buildings can be reused to meet current needs while retaining their architectural integrity and historic significance. Click here for more about this project.
JAHA worked with Lift Johnstown and several additional partners on another charrette in October 2011, which was about planning for the entire neighborhood of Cambria City. Many of the architects and designers from the first charrette returned to take part. Click here for a PDF of the design team's final recommendations.
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The Stone Bridge Project -- JAHA worked with a community committee to restore and light the facade of the Stone Bridge, which is a highly visible Johnstown landmark with significance to the Johnstown flood of 1889. The $1.2 million project was dedicated in September 2011, and the lights are today administered by JAHA. Visit the website to learn more.
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The Stoneycreek Quemahoning Initiative-- SQI is a comprehensive study preparing for a range of recreational, cultural and historic projects, which will include a whitewater park, public recreation trails and more. JAHA created an inventory of the area's cultural and historic resources as a part of the initiative. Partners in the initiative include JAHA, the Hollsopple Historical Society, Conemaugh Township Historical Society, Somerset Historical Society, Bottle Works Ethnic Arts Center, and the Community Foundation for the Alleghenies. Funding for SQI is provided by the Rural Heritage Development Initiative of the National Trust of Historic Preservation; the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation & Natural Resources -- Greener Vision; and Westsylvania Heritage Partners.
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The Swank Pottery Project - JAHA presented "What A Crock! Johnstown Potteries of the 19th Century," a temporary exhibit that ran in the second floor galleries of the Heritage Discovery Center from July 2005 through January 2006. The exhibit had a special focus on the Swank pottery, which operated in Johnstown throughout the mid-1800s, producing a wide range of salt glaze stoneware, but little was known about the firm's history. JAHA consulted a range of historical documents, public records and more to build a detailed history of the firm. The exhibit was funded in part by grants from the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission, the Community Foundation for the Alleghenies, and the Penelec Fund for Greater Johnstown. The exhibit catalog remains as a permanent record of the research JAHA conducted into the history of the Swank firm, and may be purchased in our online museum store.
The African-American History Project - With the help of a volunteer committee and the Johnstown chapter of the NAACP, JAHA researched the history of African-Americans in the Johnstown area. An AmeriCorps volunteer spearheaded the research under the direction of JAHA's curator, Dan Ingram. The bulk of the research was completed in 2003. For more information about the project, click here. As of February 2011, plans are being made to work with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on conserving a historic African-American cemetery on Laurel Mountain, and exploring ways to share the remote site with a larger public through a virtual tour.
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The Blacksmith Shop -- JAHA's long-term goals include opening this 1864 building as a working blacksmith shop and visitor experience. It is the most historically significant structure left in the Cambria Iron & Steel National Historic Landmark. Stabilization repairs to preserve the building were begun in 2004 with funding JAHA obtained through a Save America's Treasures grant from the National Park Service; this project includes stabilization of the brick walls using historically appropriate materials, roof replacement, repairs to the wooden cupola atop the structure, and replacement of the doors and windows. Currently, JAHA is working to develop a business model, identify and attract a suitable operation, and prepare a business plan for the preservation and reuse of the shop. Funding for these activities was obtained from the Commonwealth Financing Authority First Industries Tourism Planning Grant Program with the help of State Senator John Wozniak. Click here to visit the Cambria Blacksmith Shop section of this website.
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Morley's Dog - Morley's Dog is a Victorian-era statue that washed away in the great Johnstown flood of 1889, but was recovered and eventually became a beloved Johnstown icon. Until 2004 the statue stood in a pocket park in downtown Johnstown, but the combined effects of age, weather and occasional vandalism incidents have taken their toll, and the statue was removed for restoration. Concurrent Technologies Corp. donated their time and expertise in the conservation, and JAHA assisted with the fundraising effort to conserve the city-owned artifact. In 2011 the conservation was completed, but the statue is too fragile to be displayed outdoors.
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Directional Signs - With the help of State Senator John Wozniak, JAHA obtained a grant for directional signage (as pictured at left) to help tourists and locals locate museums, parking garages, hospitals and other public buildings in Johnstown. More than 70 signs were installed in June 2003. For more on the project, click here.
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Historic Preservation Projects--In the early 1990s, JAHA researched and successfully nominated several historic Johnstown-area neighborhoods as National Historic Districts on the National Register of Historic Places . This extensive process involved inventorying every historically significant building within each district. The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation's historic places worthy of preservation, and is designed to foster a national preservation ethic; promote a greater appreciation of America's heritage; and increase and broaden the public's understanding and appreciation of historic places. The JAHA-nominated districts, along with summaries of the original applications, are listed below. The applications include a great deal of general information about each area's history, and details about historically significant buildings. JAHA has used this information to create walking tour routes, two of which are posted on the Visitor Resources section of this site; see A Walking Tour of Cambria City and A Walking Tour of Downtown Johnstown.
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