Militias played a central role in antebellum Centre County, teaching men military discipline and arms skills to ensure their readiness for war. The volunteer companies also served as fraternal organizations that linked members to the communities.
Moses Thompson was the last ironmaster of Centre Furnace. He was a banker, an investor in canals, turnpikes and railroads, and at his death in 1891 the largest landowner in Centre County. His economic and political influence helped bring the Farmers’ High School of Pennsylvania, the future Penn State, to Centre County, and he was […]
Public motion picture screenings in Centre County paralleled the growth of the movies as a popular form of public entertainment in rural and small-town America in the first half of the 20th century, and their transformation to part of a wider range of entertainment in the late 20th and early 21st century.
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.
The presence and impact of Native Americans in what is today Centre County is a matter of both history and popular imagination. Evidence indicates that the region between the West Branch of the Susquehanna and the Juniata Rivers was primarily an area of hunting and transit for Native Americans.
The Pennsylvania Military Museum in Boalsburg preserves the commonwealth’s military history and honors the soldiers from all branches of the United States armed services. The museum opened in 1968 on the grounds of the 28th Infantry Division Shrine established by prominent Boalsburg resident, Theodore Boal.
The history of radio in Centre County has been shaped by technological developments, social change, and commercial interests. Radio is an intimate medium, and local stations are often the only stations available to listeners, even as they are shaped by distant economic trends and federal regulation.
Sherman Lutz was an aviator, flight instructor, and advocate of commercial flight in Centre County. In 1932, he built an airport in Boalsburg that was primarily a flight school where he supervised the first solo flights of 476 pilots.
St. John’s United Church of Christ is a historic church in Boalsburg that is home to the oldest pipe organ in Centre County. It organized as German Reformed congregation on May 31, 1822 and the current church was built forty years later.
Over-the-air television came to Centre County on September 15, 1949, as WJAC began “telecasting” from Johnstown. Originally assigned to channel 13, WJAC switched in 1955 to channel 6, a more favorable frequency.