A look back at State College as Schlow Library Celebrates 60 years.
Congratulations Schlow Library for 60 years of continued service to the State College community. This is a compilation of photos of downtown State College in the 1950s-60s.
Category: Centre County History
Glimpses of Life at Centre Furnace Mansion during the 1890’s from Grandma Beaver’s Journals
Centre Furnace Mansion became a quiet retreat after the first generation of Thompson children grew up and moved away from home, and Moses and Mary settled into old age. But in the last decade of the nineteenth century the Mansion was to come alive again as another generation of young people filled the house with […]
Brief Penn State History
Centre Furnace ironmasters James Irvin and Moses Thompson’s longest-lasting contribution to the development of Centre County was not iron-making, but in support of agricultural science and education. In 1855, Irvin spearheaded the effort to locate the newly chartered Farmers’ High School of Pennsylvania in Centre County. He freely offered 200 acres of land, with the […]
Historic Houses in the Spring Creek Watershed
There is a rich collection of historic houses in the Spring Creek Watershed, some of them more than 200 years old. They range from individual properties located on or near Spring Creek or its tributaries to those included in the historic villages and towns that evolved from original small settlements. They are significant through their […]
Architectural Resources in the CCHS Collections & Online
CCHS Library and Archives: 1. Comprehensive Historic Site Surveys for boroughs and townships in Centre County 2. National Register of Historic Places nomination forms for Centre County 3. Books and articles related to architecture and landscape architecture 4. Mansion within a Mansion: a booklet about the miniature Centre Furnace Mansion model 5. Homestead and Streetscape: […]
Centre County Architecture Bibliography
Blumenson, John. Identifying American Architecture: Pictorial Guide to Styles and Terms, 1600-1945. Nashville: American Association for State & Local History, 1977. Carley, Rachel. Visual Dictionary of American Domestic Architecture. New York: Henry Holt, 1994. Downing, Andrew Jackson. The Architecture of Country Houses. New York: Dover, 1850/1969. Downing, Andrew Jackson. Victorian Cottage Residences. New York: Dover, […]
Native Americans, Original Land Warrants and The First Settlers
Native Americans Native Americans – Delaware, Shawnee, Mingo, Iroquois – flourished in the early history of Centre County, planting the valleys in corn and squash, and hunting in the ridges. Their paths through the valleys and the water gaps were linked to paths extending to the Susquehanna and the Allegheny River systems. County place names […]
Centre Furnace Ironworks & Mansion Timeline
This timeline incorporates various notable Centre Furnace, Centre County, national events to provide context. Period of Log Structure 1775—1783 Revolutionary War 1779 First schoolhouse in Centre County/Aaronsburg 1789—1797 George Washington, US President 1790—1791 Samuel Miles and John Patton acquired fifty-three land warrants covering over 16,000 acres to begin the Centre Furnace charcoal iron operation. 1791 […]
Centre County and the Civil War
Pennsylvania’s important role in the Civil War cannot be denied. Over 360,000 soldiers, including 8,600 African Americans, fought for the preservation of the Union while valuable resources such as iron, steel, and agricultural products helped to sustain the effort. Those along the southernmost part of the Commonwealth had a direct view of war through battles, […]
The ABCs of Centre County
An Alphabetical Look at Places and Spaces around Centre County A Aaronsburg (Haines) — Philadelphia land speculator Aaron Levy laid out the village of Aaronsburg in 1786. It was the earliest town in what would become Centre County, along its earliest road. Aaronsburg’s location near the geographic center of Pennsylvania probably prompted Levy to propose […]