Shortly before the dawn of the automobile age, two Centre County railroads established summer recreational parks that attracted thousands of visitors annually. Hecla Park and Hunters Park were built to create modest but dependable sources of income that helped railroads weather the ups and downs of the freight business.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Penn State built on-campus cottages to house faculty members. In the years since, the cottages have served many purposes and three still fulfill important roles on the campus.
Centre County is comprised of twenty-five townships and ten boroughs that provide local government for residents. The number of boroughs and townships has grown and changed since the county’s founding in 1801.
Boalsburg, originally known as Springfield, is a historic village in Harris Township, near the base of Tussey Mountain. After the Revolutionary War, settlers moved to the valley and among them was David Boal, who built a stone cabin in 1803, which still stands as part today’s Boal Mansion.
Millheim is a historic Centre County community that for more than 150 years was the industrial center of Penns Valley. Its history has been shaped by Elk Creek, which provided power to the mills that gave the borough its name.
Unionville was founded as a Quaker settlement and for decades was one of the lumber-producing centers of the Bald Eagle Valley. Located five miles west of Milesburg, the town is on the State Road from Philadelphia where it climbs the Allegheny Front to Philipsburg and eventually to Erie.
Moshannon State Forest is a 190,000-acre forest in the Allegheny Plateau region of central Pennsylvania, managed by the Commonwealth for both ecosystem preservation and the production of timber for sale.
Bear Meadows Natural Area is an 890-acre protected zone within Rothrock State Forest that is known for its unusual swamp and rare plants. It is protected both as a State Forest Natural Area and as a United States National Natural Landmark.
Scotia was the scene of iron ore mining from the late 1700s to the 1940s, supplying ore to Centre County’s early iron furnaces and, years later, to Andrew Carnegie’s Pittsburgh steel mills.The iron pits are part of a larger area now known as the Scotia Barrens, covering parts of Half Moon, Patton, and Ferguson townships.
Harmony Forge, built in 1795 near Milesburg, was one of the first iron forges to operate in what would become Centre County. It flourished as a diversified ironworks but closed in the early 20th century. A mansion built on the site is on the National Register of Historic Places.