Boroughs & Towns, Somerset County

Somerfield borough was laid out by Philip D. Smyth, in 1818, as the town of Smythfield. It was situated where the National road crossed the Youghiogheny river and was laid out on land warranted to Jacob Spears, April 17, 1769, fourteen days after the land office at Philadelphia was opened for the sale of lands … Read more

Shanksville, founded in 1798, was named for its founder, Christian Shank, who erected the first house within the limits of the village. Previously he had erected two saw mills here and in 1803, he erected a grist mill and a woolen mill. In 1829, the village was laid off into lots by its founder. There … Read more

Sand Patch is a small railroad station on the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad in the southwestern part of the township. It was built upon land formerly owned by Ananias Heffley. The first building in the town was erected by the Pittsburgh & Connellsville Railroad Company in 1872. The Sand Patch post office was established in … Read more

The town of Salisbury was laid out by Joseph Markley in 1794. Douglas Baker was the surveyor. The first house was built by Peter Shirer and Martin Weimer. About 1814, Peter Shirer and Peter Welfley bought fifty acres of land and laid off an addition to the Markley plat. All that part of the town … Read more

Rockwood, situated at the junction of the Baltimore & Ohio and the Somerset & Cambria railroads, was laid out by Philip Wolfersberger in 1857. The first house was built in 1856 by P. & D. Wolfersberger and was used as both a store and dwelling. The first hotel was erected by John Poister in 1860, … Read more

Located near the central part, Pocahontas is the only village in Greenville township. It was laid out in 1845 by Daniel Yutzy with the help of surveyor, Samuel M. Heller. In 1884, it contained one hotel, one store, one blacksmith and one carpenter’s shop. Charles Miller built the first house in 1843. It was a … Read more

Petersburg (Addison postoffice) is a small village, situated on the west side of Winding Ridge, at an elevation of twenty-one hundred or twenty-two hundred feet above sea-level. It was laid out by Peter Augustine, on his own land, in 1818. The first house in the place was erected on lot number one, by Henry Stuller … Read more

This place was named after the township of the same name. The town was formerly known as Scalp Level. It was founded by Jacob Eash. Scalp Level was located partly in Somerset County and party in Cambria County. The part in Somerset County was named Paint; but the part in Cambria County still retains it … Read more

This village was laid out on September 14, 1824, in the southeastern part of the township on the land of David and Magdalena Tedrow. In 1884, the population consisted of about one dozen families and contained one general store, a post office, three shoe shops, two smith shops and a tannery. A few of the … Read more

New Centreville, a town of 250 to 300 inhabitants, is situated in the western part of Milford township. It was laid out in 1834 by Michael Freeze, who gave it the name it now bears, excepting the prefix, “New,” which was added when the village became a borough. John Witt made the survey of lots. … Read more