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Centre County Encyclopedia of History & Culture

Explore Centre County’s History & Culture

Welcome to the Centre County Encyclopedia of History & Culture, an online resource sponsored by the Centre County Historical Society.

Currently, we are featuring articles about two prominent Revolutionary War veterans from Centre County, John Patton and Philip Benner. Patton served in various capacities as an officer during the war and afterwards moved to Centre County to build the region’s first charcoal-fired iron furnace Centre Furnace. The operation’s success sparked the founding of additional furnaces and forges in what would become Centre County. After the war, Benner learned about the rich iron ore found in the Nittany Valley that had led to the founding of the Centre Furnace. He acquired land along Spring Creek and built Rock Iron Works as well as several of the early homes in Bellefonte. Patton and Benner townships are named for the two men.

We welcome your feedback about all the articles in the encyclopedia as well as your suggestions for future encyclopedia articles.

As the number of train excursions declined, the railroad added speeder car rides that have been popular. (Bellefonte

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Committed to Transparency

This website is being made possible in part through a grant provided by the Centre County Board of Commissioners and Happy Valley Adventure Bureau. Funding for the Centre County Historical Society is also supported by a grant from the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, a state agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

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