Local Historia

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…

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…

Covering 90 percent of Pennsylvania’s nearly 30 million acres, forests served as “green gold” to her early colonists. Timber provided stability to Pennsylvania’s economy, just as it did for the structures it built. As America grew, timber fueled progress. The logging boom of the 1800s was at the heart of America’s industrial revolution, and the…

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…

“My God, Thompson, I have discovered an empire!” From his perch at the peak of McBride’s Gap on Mount Nittany, Captain James Potter marveled at the pristine valley that stretched before his company. The company had been traveling for days searching for suitable locations for a British fort. As their leader, Potter seemed never to…

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…