Milton Stover Eisenhower came to Penn State in 1950 as its eleventh president after serving as a government administrator and seven years as president of Kansas State University. Eisenhower guided Penn State through a postwar transition of rapidly growing enrollment, academic programs, and research.
McCoy’s Dam on Spring Creek provided hydroelectric power for Centre County during the first half of the twentieth century. The dam, south of Milesburg, was idled for five decades before being razed in 2007 to improve the creek’s water quality.
Schlow Centre Region Library, established in State College in 1957, serves Centre County residents as an agency of the Centre Region Council of Governments. The library was founded when local business owner Charles Schlow donated a property with a two-room storefront on West College Avenue to house it.
In the early years of U.S. transcontinental mail, Bellefonte airfields played an important role as a major refueling stop between New York and Chicago. Mail was flown for the first time from Bellefonte on December 18, 1918, Pilots flew an assortment of planes, including de Havilland DH-4s and Curtiss JN-4H “Jennies.”
Frederick Watts served as founding president of the Board of Trustees of the Farmers’ High School / Agricultural College of Pennsylvania from 1855 to 1874. He played an integral role in establishing the college in Centre County and securing its federal and state land-grant designation.
The Morrill Land-Grant College Act created a new class of colleges centered on scientific, technical, and applied subjects, especially agriculture and engineering. The Pennsylvania Legislature designated the Agricultural College of Pennsylvania, today’s Penn State, as the recipient of the act’s endowment income.
Daniel Hartman Hastings, a longtime resident of Bellefonte, was the governor of Pennsylvania from 1895 to 1899. He gained public notice with his leadership in the aftermath of the catastrophic Johnstown flood of 1889. During his term as governor, the commonwealth’s government underwent significant change. Hastings was born in Clinton County on February 26, 1849. […]
The Centre County Library, founded in 1939, serves readers with four locations and a bookmobile. The creation of what is now a county library system began with the generosity of Bellefonte resident, Ann Elmira Humes,who agreed to donate her home, the historic Miles-Humes House, for a public library.
The Cold Stream Dam is a popular recreation spot on State Route 322 in Philipsburg. Throughout its history, the dam has suffered mishaps, most notably in 1936, when it broke and water flooded the downtown. However, the dam has survived to remain an important local resource.
Mid-State Regional Airport was created as an emergency landing field for pilots and later became the home of commercial flights from Centre County. With the construction of University Park Airport, Mid-State is now primarily used by private pilots and is a central point for the coordination of fighting forest fires. The airport is situated on […]