Editing Ebensburg, Pennsylvania (section)

==Postwar prosperity==
In the years following the Civil War, Ebensburg flourished, and became a prosperous town. The wealthy built grand homes to flank the streets, their lavish carriages rolled down the roads, and local gentleman formed a debate club that met regularly in lounges in the town.

The mountain town, high in the Alleghenies, attracted [[Pittsburgh]] socialites who flocked here to escape the dirty, loud and sickly streets of the industrial city. Locals realized the town's allure; entrepreneurs wrote promotional pamphlets extolling the town's "many days of bright sunshine, its pure artesian well water, its health giving atmosphere, its splendid surroundings - absolutely free from smoke and dust... the town is remarkably free from the ills which plague so many localities."<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Huber |first=Dave |title=Historic Ebensburg |publisher=Mountaineer Herald |year=1997 |pages=3, 45, 83–85,142}}</ref> This promise of healthy life in the peaks of Ebensburg lured many who could afford so-called "summer cottages" -some were built to a scale akin to mansions. The first wave of tourism was housed in newly built, prominent hotels in grandiose [[Victorian architecture|Victorian style]] that had been developed across town.

The Maple Park Springs Hotel sat on a hill in the Northwest corner of town, on a tract of land known as "Lloyds Grove." Altoona musician [[J.W. Leman]] wrote the "Maple Park March Two-Step" for the hotel.<ref name=":0" /> Wealthier townspeople started building their own Victorian homes, and the socialites began to arrive with funds to claim their own slivers of mountain paradise.

Among the new buildings was [[Ormsby Lodge]], owned by the Phillips Family. Built in 1889 by [[Duncan Phillips (art collector)|Duncan Phillips]], a prominent art collector, the lodge was an 18-room [[Eastlake architecture|Eastlake]] style, Victorian "cottage" built on the former Belmont Tract of land. Artist [[Marjorie Acker Phillips]], wife of Duncan Phillips, typically summered with her family at the Ormsby estate.

Another summer cottage was the Bissel Home, which was designed by architect [[Stanford White]], who also designed [[Madison Square Garden (1890)|Madison Square Garden]].<ref name=":1" />

David Park of Pittsburgh bought the Maple Park Springs Hotel and built his own mansion in town. The ''[[Johnstown Democrat]]'' wrote of the town around this time "that delightful village" of Ebensburg "In many respects is more attractive than Cresson... and it may be truthfully added that its complement of pretty girls is alone enough to give it enviable fame."<ref name=":1" />

Residents and visitors' enjoyment was interrupted in 1889 when they heard news that the city of [[Johnstown, Pennsylvania|Johnstown]] to the south was [[Johnstown Flood|devastated by a deadly flood]] after an earthen dam had failed.

[[File:Ebensburg PENNA Fire 2.jpg|left|thumb|Fire damage in downtown Ebensburg from the 1915 fire.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.gendisasters.com/pennsylvania/6525/ebensburg-pa-destructive-fire-throughout-town-feb-1915 |title=Ebensburg, PA Destructive Fire Throughout Town, Feb 1915 |last=Beitler |first=Sue |website=GenDisasters.com}}</ref>]]
[[File:Cambria County Courthouse late 19th Century.jpg|thumb|upright|The Cambria County Courthouse as seen from South Center Street in the late 19th century. Built in Victorian style, it features a clocktower, and a statue of Justice at its peak. ''Cambria County Historical Society'']]

In February 1915 most of downtown Ebensburg was burned down 
<blockquote>"by fire which broke out in the pool room of the Mountain House. Every building in the block from the Mountain House to the county court house was destroyed. The loss is estimated between $250,000 and $300,000. The court house was not damaged although the buildings adjoining were destroyed. Fire companies from many [[Northern Cambria, Pennsylvania|northern Cambria]] towns were summoned to assist the Ebensburg company. The Johnstown city fire department also went to the scene. The buildings destroyed include the fine building of the Cambria Savings and company, several hotels, a livery barn, a bank building and a number of small office buildings. The telephone communications were cut off. The buildings destroyed were thirteen in number. A cigarette dropped in the poolroom the night previous is believed to have started the fire."<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.gendisasters.com/pennsylvania/6525/ebensburg-pa-destructive-fire-throughout-town-feb-1915 |title=Ebensburg has Costly Fire |date=1915-02-24 |work=The Indiana Weekly Messenger}}</ref></blockquote>

According to ''The Indiana Progress'', "Several buildings were dynamited to prevent the spread of the flames."<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.gendisasters.com/pennsylvania/6525/ebensburg-pa-destructive-fire-throughout-town-feb-1915 |title=EBENSBURG HAS $250,000 FIRE. |date=February 24, 1915 |work=The Indiana Progress}}</ref> The lowest cost estimate of losses was $250,000; the equivalent in 2020 of $6,402,920.79.

Despite the fire, a number of historic homes and buildings survived. Townspeople recognized the value of these and defined an historic district, identifying which buildings were of quality that contributed to its fabric. In 2019 the significance of The Ebensburg Historic District was recognized when it was added to the [[National Register of Historic Places]]. The District is bounded roughly by Highland Avenue and West, Sugar, and Triumph streets.<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2013a|dateform=October 9, 2019|access-date=December 9, 2020|refnum=100004163|name=Ebensburg Historic District}}</ref><ref name="WJAC">{{Cite web |url=https://wjactv.com/news/local/ebensburg-added-to-national-register-of-historical-places |title=Ebensburg added to National Register of Historical Places |publisher=WJAC Staff |access-date=December 9, 2020}}</ref>