Matt Maris
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The Crooked House: Public Art, Public History, Public House in Milesburg
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At an auction in Milesburg, Benjamin Fehl bought a house dating back to the 1850s with the intention of restoring the home. When he realized the sagging and tilting house was irreparable, he stopped construction but did not give up. Something about this ordinary home kept pulling Fehl back to Milesburg. His background in architecture…
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Coal on the Mountaintop: Mining Is a Deep Part of Snow Shoe’s Heritage
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Late in the 18th century, the Snow Shoe Camp Surveys were made along Native American trails between Clinton and Clearfield counties. The surveyor is said to have named the area after a mysterious snow shoe he found. Centre Countians affectionately know this region today as the “mountaintop.” The mountaintop area includes Burnside and Snow Shoe…
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‘Camp Fires’: Remembering Centre County’s Civil War Veterans
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At the intersection on West High Street near what is now appropriately named Veterans Bridge in Bellefonte, a group of Civil War veterans in the Grand Army of the Republic were photographed circa 1895. The following is a brief sketch in honor of those veterans and units from Centre County who served during the Civil…
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Local Historia: Axemann Facilities Made Some of the Best Chopping Blades in the World
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Sometimes the most dedicated caregivers of history are the homeowners of historic properties. Deborah and Elizabeth Hamilton purchased a little piece of Axemann history in 2007. They are seen in the photo holding their 19th century Harvey Mann axe stamped “H. Mann Centre Co.” The couple is standing in front of the original Harvey Mann…
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The Story of the ‘Old Mud Church’ – and Philipsburg Itself – Begins with a Road, a Tree and a Determined Family
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The quaint Union Church and Burial Ground is at the heart of Philipsburg’s history. More than 200 years old, it is nicknamed the “Old Mud Church” for the rough cast plaster added to the original log structure. Around 1820, community members established it as “a house built which will answer the double purpose of a…
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History Beneath the Water: The Foster Joseph Sayers Memorial Dam Is a Story of Sacrifice
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The Bald Eagle Creek meanders through Centre County, running through the small and beloved town of Howard. History is often compared to the flow of water; it is constant and changing all at once, like timeless memories. When Foster Joseph Sayers Memorial Dam was constructed from 1967 to 1969, some of that history was changed…
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Two Daughters, Two Memorials: A 1906 Ceremony Sheds Light on Centre County’s Civil War History
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On a hot June day in 1906, two daughters unveiled two memorials before a crowd of 10,000 people. Miss Margaret Burnet pulled a golden cord to reveal the statue of her great-grandfather, Governor Andrew Gregg Curtin. Miss Helen Fox, the daughter of the late Lieutenant Joseph Fox, held an identical cord in her hand, awaiting…