Andrew Gregg

Andrew Gregg was an early landowner in Penns Valley who became an important politician, representing the middle portion of the state in the U.S. House of Representatives and Pennsylvania as a United States senator. 

James Irvin

James Irvin was the ironmaster of Centre Furnace and the benefactor whose gift of 200 acres led to the establishment in Centre County of the Farmers’ High School of Pennsylvania, the future Penn State University.

Fred Lewis Pattee

Fred Lewis Pattee was an author, literary scholar, and English professor at Penn State. He wrote the alma mater and made numerous other contributions to the college. The Pattee Library is named for him.

Robert Cole

Robert Cole was a self-trained architect who designed some of Bellefonte’s best-known buildings, as well as churches, homes and other structures in Centre County.

Julia Brill

Julia Gregg Brill was the first female professor in Penn State’s English Department where she taught composition from 1924 to 1954. She was a tireless advocate for women and recognized by the university for her work.

Peter Meek

Peter Gray Meek was the controversial editor of the Democratic Watchman for more than fifty years. He was widely known for his editorials opposing the Civil War, which led to his arrest several times.

Phil Hallock

Philip Fischler Hallock was a professor at Penn State whose design of residential and commercial projects contributed to the growth of modern architecture in Centre County in the middle of the twentieth century.

Franco Harris

Franco Harris was a popular Penn State graduate who went on to a Hall of Fame career as a running back for the Pittsburgh Steelers in the National Football League.

Davey Lewis

Davey Lewis, a native of Centre County, was a scourge of central and southern Pennsylvania in the early 19th century, notorious for highway robbery, counterfeiting, and prison escapes.

Nadine Kofman

Nadine Kofman was a long-time journalist, author, and historian, who in different ways, helped preserve the history of Centre County. As a reporter for the Centre Daily Times, she wrote the “Way Back When” column. She also wrote “About Town” for Town & Gown magazine.