Johnstown, settled in 1770, is perhaps most famous for its three floods. The Johnstown Flood"Great Flood" of May 31, 1889 occurred after the South Fork Dam collapsed 14 miles (22.53 km) upstream from the city during heavy rains. At least 2,200 people died as a result of the flood and subsequent fire that raged through the debris. Other major floods occurred in 1936 and 1977. Johnstown was formally organized as a town in 1800 by the SwitzerlandSwiss Ethnic GermanGerman settler Joseph Johns (ne Josef Schantz). The settlement was initially known as Schantzstadt, but was soon anglicized to Johnstown. From 1834 to 1854, the city was a port and key transfer point along the Pennsylvania Main Line of Public WorksPennsylvania Main Line Canal. Johnstown was at the head of the canal's western branch, with canal boats having been transported over the mountains via the Allegheny Portage Railroad and refloated here, to continue the trip by water to Pittsburgh and the Ohio Valley. Perhaps the most famous passenger via the canal to visit Johnstown briefly was Charles Dickens in 1842. By 1854, canal transport became redundant by the completion of the Pennsylvania Railroad, which took away the canal's cargo and passenger business. The canal was abandoned soon afterwards. With the canal's demise, iron, coal, and steel quickly became central to the town of Johnstown. By 1860,the Cambria Iron Company of Johnstown was the leading steel producer in the United States. Through the second half of the 19th century, Johnstown made much of the nation's barbed wire. Johnstown prospered from skyrocketing demand in the western United States for barbed wire. By 1900, Johnstown primarily only produced and fabricated steel, with little other economic diversification, other than ancillary coal production to feed the mills. This singular focus caused significant problems for Johnstown later on. Johnstown in the inter-war years was a remarkably prosperous hard-working city. Its public transportation was considered the one of the best of any small city in the United States. The city's first commercial radio station, WJAC, began broadcasts in 1925. The downtown boasted at least five major department stores. However, the St. Patrick's Day 1936 Flood combined with the gnawing effects of the Great Depression left Johnstown struggling temporarily. A federally-financed flood control project, completed in 1938 and dedicated by President Franklin Roosevelt, finally gave Johnstown temporary safety from its rivers. For the next 39 years, Johnstown proclaimed itself "Flood-free", a feeling reinforced when Johnstown was virtually the only riverside city in Pennsylvania not to flood during Hurricane Agnes in 1972. The immediate post-WWII years mark Johnstown's peak as a steel maker and fabricator. At its peak, steel provided Johnstowners with more than 13,000 full-time, well-paying jobs. However, increased domestic and foreign competition, coupled with Johnstown's relative distance from its primary iron ore source in the western Great Lakes, led to a steady decline in profitability. New capital investment waned. Johnstown's mountainous terrain, and the resulting poor layout for the mills' physical plant strung along 11 miles of river bottom lands, compounded the problem. Extensive damage from the 1977 flood sealed Johnstown's demise as a steelmaker. By the early 1990s, Johnstown abandoned its steel production entirely, although some limited fabrication work continues. However, Johnstown's singular focus on steel for almost 150 years left little other viable, large-scale economic activity. Johnstown has yet to find its economicseconomic footing for the 21st century. In 2003, US Census data showed that Johnstown was the least likely city in the United States to attract newcomers, demonstrating the weak opportunities provided by the local manufacturing and service economies. At the same time, Johnstown does show signs of recovering from its decades-long slumber. New or recent construction in the downtown and adjacent Kernville neighborhoods signal the increasing potential for Johnstown's service economy. Johnstown remains a regional Medicinemedical, Educationeducational, and telecommunicationcommunications center. Healthcare now provides the bulk of employment opportunities within the city. In recent years, the Pasquerilla Performing Arts Center, a concert/theatrical venue at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown, continues to attract high-quality performers. The Johnstown Symphony Orchestra and the recently-formed Johnstown Symphony Chamber Players provide high quality classical music. The Pasquerilla Convention Center was recently constructed downtown, adjacent to the Cambria County War Memorial Arena. Under construction in 2005 is a new multi-use facility to replace the aging Point Stadium. Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center is also ready to construct a major medical complex on the site of an abandoned industrial property very close to the downtown area. A recently-passed zoning ordinance created an artist zone and a traditional neighborhood zone to encourage both artistic endeavors and the old-fashioned "Mom and Pop" enterprises that had difficulty thriving under the previous code. The Bottleworks Ethnic Arts Center offers many exhibitions, events, performances, and classes that celebrate the rich and diverse cultural heritage of the Area. The recently-established ART WORKS In Johnstown! will house artist studios in some of the area's architecturally significant but underused industrial buildings. A pilot ART WORKS project underway will feature Johnstown's first fully LEED-certified green building. Both of these institutions are in the historic Cambria City section of town, which boasts a variety of ethnic churches and social halls. This neighborhood hosted the National Folk Festival (USA)National Folk Festival for three years in the early 1990s. Johnstown also hosts the annual Thunder in the Valley motorcycle rally (sports)rally during the fourth week of June; the event has attracted motorcyclists from across the Northeast to the city of Johnstown since 1998. Significant and largely successful efforts have been made to deal with deteriorating housing, brownfields, drug problems, and other issues. The Johnstown Fire Department has become a leader in developing intercommunication systems among first responders, and is now a national model for ways to avoid the communications problems which faced many first responders during the September 11, 2001 attacks. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnstown%2C_Pennsylvania