Artist-designed Liberty Bell replicas representing unique aspects of local history made their debuts at two historic Centre County sites on Friday ahead of the celebration of the United States’ 250th birthday in 2026.
The 3-foot-by-3-foot fiberglass bells at Centre Furnace Mansion in State College and Eagle Iron Works and Curtin Village in Howard are part of Bells Across PA, an initiative by America250PA to place at least one ceremonial bell in all 67 Pennsylvania counties. Two more bells will be dedicated in December at the Bellefonte train station and in downtown Philipsburg.
“These fiberglass bells may not ring, but they’re far from silent. Each one tells a story about community, creativity and pride,” said Andre Castillo, engagement and volunteer coordinator for America250PA, Pennsylvania’s commission for the statewide celebration of the nation’s semiquincentennial.
Local artist Jeff Mathison designed the bell at Centre Furnace Mansion, now the home of the Centre County Historical Society and originally the residence of the ironmaster for the iron furnace that sparked the region’s first industry when it was first fired in 1791, nearly a decade before the county itself was established.
Working for weeks in a temporary studio at the mansion, Mathison painted the bell with the original two-story log house that stood on the site, Centre Furnace founders and Revolutionary War veterans Samuel Miles and Patton, and the furnace stack, which stands across Porter Road from the mansion as an artifact of the county’s history.
“The furnace stack they created still stands, but it hasn’t been fired in over a century, and I did choose to give it signs of the glow of life as the ore had just finished melting through it,” Mathison said.
He also noted that while he had a portrait of Miles by the famed painter Gilbert Stuart to reference, little description of Patton exists in the historical record, so he depicted him “as the frontiersman taking on the physical work of constructing the iron industry out in the wilds of western Pennsylvania while Miles handled the business in the city.”
Silhouettes of iron objects, inspired by those around the hearth inside the mansion, line the rim of the bell, and topping it off is “a symbolic ribbon of liberty continuing from 1776 to today hopefully beyond,” Mathison explained.
Mathison also had the idea to create a frame for the furnace’s original iron bell so that it could be rung on Friday for the first time in more than two decades, said Mary Sorensen, executive director of the Centre County Historical Society, who noted that it was “probable the very first object cast” from Centre Furnace iron.
The Centre Furnace also played a pivotal role in the region’s future. Decades after Miles and Patton had died, their successors Moses Thompson and James Irvin used their influence and a donation of land to persuade the commonwealth’s political leaders to locate the Farmers High School, which would later become Penn State, in Centre County. A dinner hosted by the Thompsons at the mansion with local dignitaries in 1855 played a key role in convincing the site selection committee, and a historical marker on site commemorates it as “the birthplace of Penn State.”
“The founding of Centre Furnace is the story depicted on our Bells Across PA Liberty Bell,” Sorensen said. “But the influence of these early founders had far-reaching impacts.”
The bell at Curtin Village, meanwhile, also illustrates Centre County’s ironmaking past. Designed by Millheim artist Elody Gyekis, it depicts the ironmaking process at the the charcoal iron plantation founded in the early 19th-century, the longest operating of its kind in central Pennsylvania’s Juniata Iron District.
‘History and Hope’
Friday’s unveilings welcomed local elected officials, historical preservation supporters and other community members in both State College and Howard.
At Centre Furnace Mansion, where a standing room only audience gathered in the Hearth Room before going outside for the bell’s uncovering, State College Mayor Ezra Nanes detailed the history of the original Liberty Bell in Philadelphia and the symbolism of its famous crack, saying that it “has never needed a perfect surface or a flawless ring to stand for our highest aspirations.”
“As we unveil this bell today, let it represent both history and hope, a reminder of the countless stories, identities and dreams that make up who we are,” Nanes said. “May this bell inspire us to imagine that perfect ring of liberty and what it would take to achieve it. And may our own Liberty Bell call us to bring our best selves to this work to our lives and to carry America forward into the next 250 years.”
State Rep. Paul Takac, D-College Township, said the bell and the celebration of the United States’ founding is a time to remember and embrace what brings people together, not what sets them apart.
“We are on the cusp of celebrating the 250th anniversary of the commemoration of the statement about the core principles, beliefs and values that we hold as a nation and I think, especially now, it’s incredibly important to embrace that opportunity and to each one of us reaffirm that those are the core principles,” Takac said.
“And let’s face it, there is right now very powerful forces driving us apart in our country. We need to remember that there’s so much more that unites us than divides us. It iss really easy to talk about what we are against today. It is much more important to talk about what we are for, and I think history allows us the lens and the opportunity to really re-engage with those founding principles.”
Throughout Pennsylvania, the bells honor places that have “played critical roles in the development of this country,” yet are often “relegated to the deep corners of museums and the footnotes of history books,” Centre County Board of Commissioners Chair Mark Higgins said.
The bells in Centre County are located in places that symbolize the region’s history of hard work, including making it an important resource hub for the early United States, he added.
“Just as a bell’s toll will echo and carry far beyond the bell’s immediate location, so too do the impacts of Centre County,” Higgins said. “I hope every time we see these bells we’re reminded of the significance of our community and having shaped and continue to shape the face of our region, state, country and even global landscapes.”
