Ebensburg Borough, Cambria County, Pennsylvania (PA) 15931

Ebensburg Borough

Cambria County, Pennsylvania

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Ebensburg Borough Hall is located at 300 West High Street, Ebensburg PA 15931.
Phone: 814‑472‑8780.

Neighborhoods

Beginnings [†]

The land comprising Ebensburg Borough was originally warranted to Thomas Martin. Martin conveyed his interest to Dr. Benjamin Rush, a Philadelphian prominent in the colonial history of Pennsylvania, to whom the Commonwealth issued a patent on February 10, 1795. Late in the year 1796, a group of Welsh immigrants left Philadelphia to establish a home in the mountains. The leader of the Welsh immigrants was Rev. Rees Lloyd. The group included George and Hugh Roberts, William and Thomas Griffith, Thomas Phillips, Robert and William Williams, John Jenkins, James Evans, and John Thomas, with their wives and families. On August 8, 1804, Rev. Lloyd purchased from Dr. Rush a tract containing 401 acres which included the site of the Borough. The settlement was named Ebensburg for Rev. Lloyd's son, Ebenezer, who died in infancy.

After the creation of the County in 1804, Ebensburg was chosen as the County seat. In competition for that honor were the villages of Beulah and Munster. Possibly the dominant factor in the designation of Ebensburg as the County seat was the donation by Rev. Rees Lloyd of approximately 104 acres of land for the public buildings and other use of the new County. After its designation as the County seat in 1805, the town began to increase in importance and population s o that in 1816, the population of the Borough was 150 while the population of Johnstown was 60.

With the construction of the Huntingdon, Cambria, and Indiana Turnpike subsequent to 1810, Ebensburg became an important stopover for stages and Conestoga wagons traveling west. Late in the nineteenth century, Ebensburg became a famous summer resort area. A branch of the Pennsylvania Railroad passed through Ebensburg in 1895. Three fires, between 1908 and 1912, either destroyed or severely damaged many of Ebensburg's older structures.

Ebensburg was the first incorporated Borough within Cambria County, having been created through an Act of Assembly January 18, 1825.

Ebensburg Borough Comprehensive Plan, 1996, elibrary.pacounties.org, accessed September, 2019.

Nearby Towns: Cambria Twp •


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