Era: Antebellum Centre County (1800-1860)

Rhoneymeade

Rhoneymeade is a rural arboretum and sculpture garden at the ancestral home of Leonard Rhone, a founder of the Centre County Grange Encampment and Fair. It hosts various events annually, as well as art classes, and is open seasonally from sunrise to sunset.

John Hamilton

John Hamilton was one of the most influential leaders in the early history of Penn State and State College. He served in numerous roles with the new college, was a member of the borough council, and built a home that started the Highlands Historic District.

William Packer

William Fisher Packer, a native of Howard Township, served as governor of Pennsylvania during the turbulent years before the Civil War. He also served in the Pennsylvania General Assembly, representing Centre County and nearby counties.

Edith Schad

Dr. Edith Schad was a pioneering Bellefonte physician who was the first woman elected to serve as president of the Centre County Medical Society. She also was a leader in moral reform movements locally and across Pennsylvania.

Jail Hill

Jail Hill is the area near the Centre County Courthouse in Bellefonte where at least three 19th century jails were constructed starting in 1800, the same year the county was established. The first “prison houses” or “common goals,” as they were sometimes known, were built on East High Street.

Penn’s Creek

Penn’s Creek is the longest limestone stream in Pennsylvania. The scenic stream, which has its headwater near Penn’s Cave in Centre County, is known for outstanding fly fishing.

Big Spring

Big Spring is a natural groundwater outlet found in Talleyrand Park in downtown Bellefonte, noteworthy for both its unique geology and its historical significance.The powerful spring forms a pool at the edge of the park.

Roopsburg Brewery

Bellefonte attorney and gunsmith Jacob Roop opened Spring Creek Brewery in 1826 on property he purchased the previous year along Spring Creek. It became­­­ Centre County’s first successful brewery, operating for 76 years until 1902.

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.