“Boalsburg is small-town USA,” is how Charles “Bud” Graham describes the spirit of this small village located in Harris Township, just a few miles southeast of State College.
“It has the small-town values and small-town characteristics you expect to find in a hamlet like this,” says Graham. “It’s a quaint, nice little community, very comfortable. A peaceful place.”
Graham ought to know. The 71-year-old has lived in the downtown area of Boalsburg his entire life, is on the Harris Township Board of Supervisors and a trustee of the Boalsburg Fire Company.
The Boalsburg population, according to Graham, “has been growing about 4 percent a year and is now on the verge of 5,000.”
Boalsburg’s biggest claim to fame is as the site of the first Memorial Day commemorative event.
“Memorial Day was created here in Boalsburg,” claims Graham with obvious pride, “though originally it was known as Decoration Day.”
Three Boalsburg ladies, as the story goes, decorated the graves of Civil War soldiers in the Boalsburg Cemetery in 1864, a custom that was continued every year since in the village. The practice became commonplace in communities around the nation and maintained the Decoration Day moniker until 1967 when President Lyndon Johnson signed legislation renaming it Memorial Day.
Boalsburg’s annual Day in Town Festival is held on Memorial Day and has been for about 40 years, complementing the carnival that the Boalsburg Fire Company has been putting on since the 1930s on Memorial Day weekend. The carnival runs from Thursday through Monday. The Day in Town event, meanwhile, is something of a mix between a street fair and an arts festival. It can draw as many as 25,000 to the village in one day.
Boalsburg also has an affecting historical ambiance. The Boalsburg Historic District has a pleasant collection of residences, shops and other businesses strung out along the length of Main Street. The historic district, along with the community’s Hill House and Boal Mansion are all listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Boalsburg has two interesting museums that both recently opened back up for the 2015 season. The Boalsburg Heritage Museum is in the restored Sara Sweet House on East Main Street, originally built in 1825. The historic home is now furnished with (mostly) Victorian-era furnishings and implements, a recreated country store display, and several separate recreated historic buildings on its grounds.
Columbus Chapel and Boal Mansion Museum is located on the 200-year-old Boal estate just off of Business Route 322. The mansion has original furnishings and several exhibit rooms featuring various kinds of implements used through the centuries by the family that founded the village, as well as the separate Columbus Chapel, which was imported to the Boal Estate from Spain in 1909 as part of a Boal-family inheritance. The chapel features an Admiral’s Desk, which, according to a museum representative, belonged to Christopher Columbus. The Columbus Chapel also contains art and statuary from the 14th through 17th centuries.
The Boal Mansion Museum’s Country Life Room has a stage coach and other implements from centuries past. The Weapons Room is filled with historic firearms, swords and knives. The Ship Room features a scale model of the Santa Maria ship, among other items.
The Boal Mansion Museum has a new director for the 2015 season — Robert Cameron, of Boalsburg.
There are two full-service restaurants in Boalsburg. Duffy’s Tavern is a very popular Victorian tavern on Main Street. The huge steer sitting atop Kelly’s Steak and Seafood (formerly Boalsburg Steakhouse), along with its tasty food, makes it all but impossible to miss on Boal Avenue. And the Pump Station Cafe, a casual breakfast and lunch spot is in a building that was originally a gas station.
The Tussey Mountain Ski Area is on the eastern edge of Boalsburg. The all-season recreation area offers not only 38 acres worth of skiing but also a zip line, skate park, golf, go-karts, and batting cages, as well as an amphitheater for live musical performances.
The Pennsylvania Military Museum is another Boalsburg attraction. It features a changing array of exhibits, public events like memorial services, veterans reunions and living history encampments. The Wall of Honor at the front façade of the museum is decorated with military service ribbons that have been awarded to Commonwealth of Pennsylvania veterans throughout the last century.
Boalsburg also has several bed-and-breakfast properties.
“If you’re looking for an area to visit for an afternoon or an overnight, Boalsburg is a friendly, safe place to come,” says Graham. “You might even get caught up in it and want to move here.”
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