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Johns' original planning is still evident.
Central Park is the site he set aside for the
courthouse he hoped to attract to the valley; the
Point Stadium is built on the land Joseph Johns
reserved for a recreation park; the site of City
Hall and the three corner lots opposite it were
the lots the founder designated for public
buildings; Joseph Johns Junior High School in on
the plot which Johns decreed should be used for a
school. Failing
to become the county seat when Ebensburg was
chosen, Conemaugh Old Town had little to attract
settlers. So in 1807, Joseph Johns sold his
village and retired to a farm near Davidsville.
He was buried there when he died in 1813.
The
average price for a lot when Johns owned the town
was $10, plus an annual ground rent of $1. Choice
sites, such as the three available at Main and
Franklin Streets, brought $150. A similar amount
was paid for Lot No. 5--the present site of the
Cambria Theater.
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