The Hotel State College is a State College landmark, known as the home of the popular Corner Room restaurant. In 1855, James Jack opened “Jack’s Road House” at the corner of College Avenue and Allen Street. At the time, the hotel was a resting place for travelers waiting for trains across the street.
The eighteen ironworks that operated across Centre County throughout the nineteenth century, including Centre Furnace, Rock Ironworks, Eagle Ironworks, Logan Furnace, Harmony Forge, and Pennsylvania Furnace, followed practices developed in Europe centuries earlier. The county had the resources necessary for making iron: timber, limestone, and iron ore, along with two major streams, Bald Eagle Creek and Spring Creek.
The Pennsylvania Match Company, founded in Bellefonte in 1899, grew to become one of the largest match producers before a reduced consumer demand for matches led to its closing. Known locally as the “Match Factory,” the sprawling brick complex is now owned by the American Philatelic Society.
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 […]
The Glennland Building was State College’s tallest building for more than forty years, known for its popular apartments and indoor pool. The building is now a boutique hotel. Located at the corner of Beaver Avenue and Pugh Street, the Glennland was built in 1933 by local businessman O.W. Houts and physician Grover Glenn, for whom […]
The Brockerhoff House is one of the architectural landmarks in Bellefonte, exemplifying the prosperity of the borough in the 19th century. The imposing four-story structure, which incorporates the Italianate, Queen Anne, and Second Empire architectural styles, encompasses a full block on Allegheny Street.
The David House is a historic dwelling in Snow Shoe that is now the home of a museum to preserve the history of the Mountaintop Area. The white-clapboard house was built on North Front Street in the late 1880s by the Lehigh Valley Coal Co. to provide housing for workers.
The Mann Axe dynasty was founded in 1828 at Boiling Spring, and grew to include five other large operations in central Pennsylvania. Collectively, the companies were among the largest axe makers in the United States and Mann axes were used worldwide.
The Nittany Lion Inn opened in 1931 to provide first-class accommodations for visitors to Penn State and Centre County. Dubbed “Penn State’s Living Room” by university President Eric Walker, the Georgian-style inn is a sentimental destination for alumni and is a popular venue for univer
Titan Metal Co., founded in 1925, was a leading producer of brass rods and castings. Led by William P. Sieg and his son, the Bellefonte company was a major employer in Centre County for decades and played a significant role in community affairs.