Era: Antebellum Centre County (1800-1860)

St. John’s Episcopal Church

St. John’s Episcopal is one of the oldest churches in Bellefonte and the last to still have its spire. Episcopalians began meeting in Bellefonte in 1825, first in a cabinet shop and later in the Masonic Lodge.

Logging Industry

Before European colonists arrived, Pennsylvania was an estimated 97 percent forested. Centre County is in an ecological region in which the aboriginal forest was dominated by white pine and hemlock, both of which had lucrative industrial applications that attracted colonists and entrepreneurs.

Advent Church

The Advent Church is a historic evangelical church in Boggs Township maintained by the local Advent Historical Society. The church, originally known as the Advent Chapel at Marsh Creek, was built in 1849 by followers of William Miller, a New York farmer and minister.

Centre Furnace

Centre Furnace was the first charcoal iron furnace in what would become Centre County. The remains of the furnace stack on East College Avenue are a reminder of the role the iron industry played in the early decades of the county’s history.

Unionville

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.

Boal Mansion

The Boal Mansion is the ancestral home of one of Centre County’s most distinguished families. Since 1952, it has been operated as a museum.

Moshannon State Forest

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.

Gamble Mill

The Gamble Mill, located near the Lamb Street bridge in Bellefonte, was a water-powered gristmill built more than two centuries ago. It was an important part of the history of Bellefonte and of the more than 150 years of grain milling in Centre County.

Way Fruit Farm

Way Fruit Farm is a sixth-generation family farm that has expanded to include a retail store and tourism events. The Ways were a pioneering Quaker family that came to the Halfmoon Valley in 1792. Caleb and Jane Way built a farm in Stormstown, and in 1826 one of their children bought 90 acres that became the farm.