Traveling east from Centre Hall along Route 192, one encounters the small villages of Madisonburg and Rebersburg. Both are located in Miles Township in Brush Valley, flanked by Mount Nittany on the north and Brush Mountain on the south, and are part of the Penns Valley School District. Both towns are surrounded by farmlands.
The rich limestone soil and the source of water from Elk Creek on the southern side of the valley made this area desirable for settlers looking for good farmland. Conrad Reber, one of the early settlers, took advantage of the influx of people into the valley and laid out Rebersburg, named after himself, in 1809. He built his town next to two churches, a tavern and a few other established structures. As the town grew, more residences and commercial structures spread out along the road. Further additions were made to the east in 1871 and 1877 and a large section was added to the west in 1891.
Picturesque Rebersburg features many two-story homes with large porches in Victorian-style architecture. With a population of 494, the town is mostly residential with a few businesses, including a small grocery store, a garage and a book store/yarn shop.
Forefathers Book Store and Main Street Yarn occupy the former First National Bank building at 121 E. Main St. The stores are owned and operated by former Centre County Commissioner and retired District Magistrate Keith Bierly and his wife, Kim. The book store contains mroe than 30,000 volumes, according to Keith Bierly.
Bierly was raised in Rebersburg, just a few houses away from the bookstore. His family has lived in Rebersburg for generations, reaching back to 1790. He fondly remembers his childhood in Rebersburg. “The way the town was laid out, with streets perpendicular to the main street, you always knew where you were,” he said. Bierly said he spent much time playing sports with his friends, and the quiet, secure atmosphere of those times remains today.
On Aug. 25, 1862, in Rebersburg, 72 young men from the Brush Valley area were mustered into Company A of the 148th Regiment of the Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry. On its 150th anniversary in 2012, this event was reenacted in the town where a monument stands marking the original mustering. It ran concurrent with the Miles Township Volunteer Fire Company’s annual carnival.
Rebersburg is also home to the Miles Township Elementary School.
Madisonburg, incorporated in 1830, lies 4 miles west of Rebersburg, at the intersection of Routes 192 and 445. Except for a few buildings along Route 192, the village sits along Madisonburg Pike, perpendicular to Mount Nittany.
Like Rebersburg, Madisonburg is mostly residential, housing 178 residents, with few businesses. The town’s most notable business is Fisher’s Shoe and Saddle Shop, located at 201 Madisonburg Pike. Fisher’s products include a diverse line of shoes, work boots, waders, wallets, hats, saddles, horse halters, blankets, riding helmets, bridle hardware, and many other equine needs, as well as leather motorcycle riding gear and saddlebags. The Amish-owned store dates back to 1968, and also features a shoe repair and custom leather fabrication service to its customers.
According to local historian Vonnie Henninger, Brush Valley is home to about 150 Amish families, and there are eight Amish schoolhouses in Brush Valley, where the students learn both German and English. Horse-drawn buggies and farm equipment are a common sight in Madisonburg, Rebersburg and the surrounding area. Both Madisonburg and Rebersburg epitomize scenic rural Pennsylvania at its best.
