At an historic meeting 234 years ago an agreement was reached which paved the way for the founding of Johnstown--destined to become Cambria County's only city and the hub of its greatest population area.

The meeting date was November 5, 1768. The principal bargainers were chiefs of the Iroquois, reigning Indian power in the East, and representatives of the Penn family's proprietary government in Pennsylvania.

The pact made that day went down in history as the Treaty of Fort Stanwix. It opened up settlement for all of Pennsylvania south of the historic Kittanning Path, and thus induced settlers to enter the valleys of the Conemaugh and the Stonycreek.

It was five months before land warrants could be issued under the Fort Stanwix Treaty. But on the very day that the treaty became effective--April 3, 1769--a warrant was taken out for 249 acres that stretched between the Conemaugh and Stonycreek Rivers. This tract was Johnstown's birthplace.