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 […]
Philip Benner was an early business leader in Centre County who established the Rock Ironworks, one of the first iron forges in the county. Benner was born in Chester County in 1762 and served in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. After the war, he operated an iron forge in Chester County. He married […]
The Civilian Conservation Corps was a government jobs program, conceived during the Great Depression, that put thousands of unemployed men to work primarily in state and national parks and forests, including four sites in Centre County.
Andrew Gregg Curtin was the governor of Pennsylvania during the Civil War and one of President Abraham Lincoln’s staunchest supporters. Curtin was born in Bellefonte on April 22, 1815. His father, Roland Curtin, owned the Eagle Ironworks, and his mother, Jane Gregg, was the daughter of U.S. Senator Andrew Gregg, Curtin’s namesake. Curtin attended Bellefonte […]