About the Encyclopedia
The Centre County Encyclopedia of History & Culture provides an authoritative look at the county’s past. The encyclopedia explores the county's history and culture, in all its variety, through topics and themes. It debuted on October 3, 2021, with 101 articles. New content is added monthly.

The encyclopedia is sponsored by the Centre County Historical Society. It won a 2022 Institutional Award of Merit from PA Museums, Pennsylvania’s statewide trade association serving museum professionals and institutions.
Mission & Goals
The mission of the encyclopedia is to share reliable and current information about historically significant events, groups, people, places, and things in Centre County.
Goals that support the mission:
- Develop a collaborative project that utilizes the expertise of individuals and groups
- Provide authoritative information on a range of topics and themes
- Create a web-based platform that is regularly updated to serve the needs of users
Standards & Practices
The encyclopedia follows accepted scholarly standards in the research, documentation, and presentation of content. All entries have been carefully reviewed and edited for accuracy, clarity, objectivity, and completeness. Errors of fact or interpretation in the research and writing of articles will be investigated and corrected if required.
Staff
Editors
Ford Risley
Lee Stout
Copy Editors
Gene Foreman
Kirstie Hettinga
Chris Ritchie
Contributors
John Affleck
John Beale
R. Thomas Berner
Michael Bezilla
Glen Blume
Blannie E. Bowen
David Hilton Brown
Rick Bryant
Curtis Chan
Ben Cramer
John Dillon
Charles DuBois
Mark Dryerson
Dave Dzkowski
James Engel
Jackie Esposito
Russell Frank
Jacob Fredericks
Megan Gilchrist
Kevin Hagopian
Bob Hazelton
Sally Heffentreyer
Vonnie Henninger
Ken Hickman
Cathy Horner
Rebecca Inlow
Matt Isham
Laurie Jeffreys
Philip Jenkins
Megan Kelby
Patricia Kleban
Nick Malizia
Cam Mallet
Steve Manuel
Priscilla Mariani
Matthew Maris
Sally McMurry
Jonathan McVerry
Lana Medina
Douglas Miller
Jon Nelson
Katie O’Toole
Patrick Parsons
Alexandra Pepe
Mike Poorman
Lou Prato
Karen Reichard
Jeff Rice
Michael Quinn
Ford Risley
Steve Sampsell
Ralph Seeley
Thomazine Shanahan
Ronald A. Smith
Jenna Spinelle
Lee Stout
Matt Swayne
Leon Valsechi
Ashley Walter
Jeffry Wert
Roger Williams
Shannon Wright
Will Yurman
Interns
Ishaan Anavkar
Arielle Lim
Grey Rochon
Marinique Rolle
Alex Schmidt
Special Thanks
Pat Britten
Jon Pelky
Johanna Sedgwick
Mary Sorensen
Mike Milligan
The encyclopedia website is made possible in part through a grant provided by the Centre County Board of Commissioners and the Happy Valley Adventure Bureau.
