Founded in 1875, College Township is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year with a series of events for the entire community.
“This sesquicentennial milestone is not just about looking back — it’s about celebrating how far we’ve come and dreaming about where we’re headed together,” says Katy VanAmburg, assistant township secretary and 150th Committee member.
“We decided to keep it in the theme of throwback events, something somewhat historical,” she says. “An old-fashioned bonfire, and a barn dance with contra dancing that’s similar to square dancing. Baseball — College Township hosts an evening at the Spikes, and baseball is historic. And then we’ll do our official event in November.” She also says they are planning a “Soup and Song” event in September.
The May 17 barn dance at Millbrook Marsh Nature Center was scheduled to offer an hour of family fun — games, food trucks, and face painting — followed by dancing. Local caller Bruce Young planned to guide participants through each dance to lively music by the Celtic band Strath Hanna Duo, with Betsy Gamble on fiddle and John Collins on piano.
For sports fans, College Township will hold its annual Night at the Spikes on Saturday, Aug. 9, at Medlar Field. The game begins at 6:35 p.m. and includes post-game fireworks.
“We always do one every year,” VanAmburg says. “We’re expanding to include some things for the sesquicentennial.”
College Township residents can get a $3 discount if they buy the Spikes tickets at the municipal building. Special promotions during the game include 150 hot dog vouchers, 150 ice cream vouchers, a poster giveaway, free T-shirts tossed into the crowd at intervals, and tables on the concourse showcasing local organizations. Township trivia will be displayed on the stadium video boards between innings. College Township Council Chair Eric Bernier and the 150th Committee chair, Carla Stilson, will throw out the first pitch.
For the “Soup and Song” event on Friday, Sept. 19, VanAmburg says, “We’re piggybacking off of Lemont Village Association’s Concerts on the Green. The proceeds from the sale of the soup meal will go to the State College Food Bank.”
Attendees can buy catered soup and bread meals starting at 5:30 p.m, then enjoy the free 7 p.m. concert by Kevin Briggs on the Lemont Village Green. The soup sale may be held in the granary if it rains.
The official anniversary ceremony will take place on Sunday, Nov. 23, at the College Township Municipal Building, two days before the actual anniversary date. VanAmburg says the speakers will include township officials and honored guests.
As part of the ceremony, VanAmburg says the committee is considering opening the time capsule that was buried in 2005 to add items for the 150th anniversary, then burying it again until the originally scheduled opening date of 2105.
Former College Township Council member Carla Stilson chairs the 150th Committee and the Timeline Committee. She says that during the ceremony, the Timeline Committee will present a history timeline of the township, based on the 14-page rough draft compiled by one member, Ron Smith of Lemont. The committee may create additional versions with different lengths and formats, including one that hangs on the council chamber walls for people to read.
Stilson says that “bringing people together over something that is joyful and celebratory, not political or controversial, is a beautiful thing. We are here together, today, on land that has a long history. I hope we can come together at these events to remember that history, celebrate the present, and hope for the future.”
College Township Timeline
Early Non-Indigenous Settlers
1786 – Robert Moore is the earliest settler on land that would become College Township. He builds a home, “Slab Cabin,” on the future site of Houserville.
1788 – Two years later, Revolutionary War veteran Jacob Houser also settles in the area of modern Houserville, which was named for him. He becomes a prosperous farmer.
1789 to 1790 – Settlers who bought and settled on large tracts of land near Lemont and Oak Hall with their families include Captain David Whitehill and Christian Dale, who founds Dale’s Mills near the future site of Lemont in 1796.
Beginnings of Local Iron Industry & Centre Furnace Mansion
1791 – Colonel John Patton arrives in what is now College Township in 1789, purchases 8,000 acres of land with his partner, Samuel Miles, and constructs Centre Furnace Ironworks.
1792 – Patton builds his home on the site of Centre Furnace Mansion and begins operating Centre Furnace, the first charcoal-fired cold-blast iron furnace, in partnership with Samuel Miles and his son, John Miles. Their initial success inspires the construction of more local iron furnaces.
1805 – After the deaths of Patton and Samuel Miles, Miles’ sons, John and James, manage the furnace and then shut it down in 1809.
1826 – John Miles and Joseph Green put the furnace into operation again. The current Georgian stone mansion is constructed circa 1826. James Irvin buy an interest in Centre Furnace in 1828.
1838 – James Irvin becomes sole owner and ironmaster in 1838, the year his sister Mary marries Moses Thompson.
1842 – Moses and Mary Irvin Thompson move into the mansion.
1848 – Moses Thompson buys a one-sixth interest in Centre Furnace and becomes sole owner and the last ironmaster of Centre Furnace by 1855. He stops operations at the furnace in 1858.
1880 – Moses Thompson builds the Centre Furnace grist mill.
1891 – At his death in 1891, Moses Thompson is the largest landowner in Centre County.
1969 – Plans for the proposed U.S. Route 322 bypass around State College include demolishing Centre Furnace Mansion and the furnace stack to build cloverleaf ramps from PA Route 26/East College Avenue onto the bypass. Intervention by the Centre County Historical Society and the community save the property. The revised plans place the ramps farther northeast on Route 26.
1978 – The Centre County Historical Society acquires the mansion and begins renovations to convert it into a historic house museum.
Lemont
1790 – Christian Dale moves to the future Lemont location and later builds a sawmill and gristmill. The village is originally known as “The End of the Mountain.”
1870 – Moses Thompson of Centre Furnace buys the property for Lemont in 1869 from his business partner, James Irvin of Oak Hall, and lays out the village the following year.
1885 – Thompson’s son, John I. Thompson, gives Lemont its name, which means “The Mountain” in French.
1948 – PA Route 26, which runs through Lemont, is rerouted to bypass the village so the road can be widened.
1968 – The Art Alliance of Central Pennsylvania is founded in Lemont, offering classes, art shows, and a gallery for art sales.
1979 – The Lemont Village Association is created in 1979 to focus on local preservation. It purchases the historic Thompson grain elevator in 1994 to restore and preserve the building, and as a venue to hold community events.
1979 – The Lemont Historic District is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Oak Hall
1822 to 1825 – General James Irvin builds a brick flour mill at Oak Hall in 1822 and his mansion in 1825. His letter offering 200 acres of land for the proposed Farmers’ High School becomes the winning bid and the start of Penn State University.
1971 – During the construction of the Route 322 bypass (Mount Nittany Expressway), much of Oak Hall village is destroyed, including the general store and post office building. The Irvin Mansion and stone barn and other historic residences remain.
1979 – The Oak Hall Historic District is added to the National Register of Historic Places.
College Township Government
1800 – Centre County is formed from sections of Northumberland, Lycoming, Mifflin, and Huntingdon counties.
1875 – Residents vote to create College Township from Harris and Benner township lands.
1965 – The first College Township Municipal Building is built on East College Avenue.
1976 – College Township voters select the Home Rule Option form of government, replacing the board of supervisors with a five-member municipal council.
1993 – The current College Township Municipal Building is built on East College Avenue. The stone sculpture landmark in front is created by Lemont stone mason Philip Hawk in 2005.
Penn State
1855 – The Farmers’ High School of Pennsylvania is chartered, and eight counties submit bids for the location of the school. General James Irvin’s offer to donate 200 acres of land for the school is accepted. His business partner, Moses Thompson, donates additional land in following years, providing the largest donation for construction of the College Building.
1859 – When President Evan Pugh arrives, the campus has an unfinished College Building (the forerunner of Old Main), four faculty, and 119 students.
1862 – The name is changed to the Agricultural College of Pennsylvania. It is designated by the Pennsylvania Legislature as the only land-grant college in Pennsylvania and sole beneficiary of the endowment funds from the Morrill Land-Grant College Act of 1862.
1874 – The name is changed to The Pennsylvania State College.
1953 – The school becomes The Pennsylvania State University, and part of the campus is in College Township.
County Hospital
1902 – Bellefonte Hospital is established in 1902 and renamed Centre County Hospital in 1924.
1972 – The Centre County Hospital in Bellefonte constructs a second building in College Township called the Mountainview Unit. The Bellefonte Hospital is known as the Willowbank Unit. Both locations operate until 1978, when the Willowbank Unit in Bellefonte closes. The hospital name is changed to Centre Community Hospital.
2003 – The hospital becomes the Mount Nittany Medical Center.
Corning Asahi
1966 – Corning Glass Works begins operations, becoming one of the largest employers in Centre County.
1989 – As Corning Asahi, the company begins making cathode ray tubes for TVs and monitors, in a joint venture with Asahi Video Products.
2003 – Declining product demand causes the company to close the facility and lay off nearly 1,000 workers.
Theaters
1950 – The Starlite Drive-In opens on Benner Pike north of Shiloh Road in 1950 and operates until 2008.
1991 – Carmike Cinema opens in 1991 on Benner Pike, across from Nittany Mall. It becomes a discount movie theater in the mid-2000s, then closes in 2011.
2004 –Premier Theatres (now UEC Theatres 12) opens on Jan. 30 on Premiere Drive near Shiloh Road.
Nittany Mall
1967 – The December issue of Town&Gown includes the magazine’s first advertisement for Grants (W.T. Grant Co.), a department store in the new Nittany Mall, the area’s first enclosed shopping center. Grants and Penn Traffic are the first two anchor stores.
2024 – Approval is granted for the first casino in Centre County, to be located at the former Macy’s site in Nittany Mall.
Public Schools
1939 – The Lemont Elementary School opens, eventually serving kindergarten through second grade.
1959 – Houserville Elementary School opens, eventually serving third through fifth grades.
1995 – Mount Nittany Middle School opens.
2011 – Mount Nittany Elementary School opens.
2019 – Lemont and Houserville elementary schools close in mid-2019 and are replaced by the newly constructed Spring Creek Elementary School, which includes kindergarten through fifth-grade classes.
Millbrook Marsh Nature Center
1997 – The Millbrook Marsh Nature Center opens after Centre Region Parks and Recreation obtains a long-term lease from Penn State for the 62-acre property, formerly Penn State Farm #12. A conservation easement between Penn State and ClearWater Conservancy protects the 50 acres of wetland from development.
2011 – The education center is constructed in 2011 and expanded in 2024.
Mount Nittany Conservancy
1945 – The Lion’s Paw Alumni Association raises funds from its members to save 525 acres of Mount Nittany from lumbering.
1981 – The Mount Nittany Conservancy is formed by the association to acquire and conserve additional Mount Nittany land and to maintain the trails. Since then, more than 300 acres have been added to the conservancy. T&G
Karen Dabney is a freelance writer in State College
Selected List of Resources:
A History of College Township Before and after 1875, by College Township Bicentennial History Committee, Lemont, PA, 1976
“Centre County Encyclopedia of History and Culture,” on Centrehistory.org, the Centre County Historical Society website
Founders Room Poster, “Farmer’s High School Selection Process 1855,” by Centre County Historical Society
Historic Resources of the Centre Region, The Centre Regional Planning Commission, 1982
Johanna Sedgwick, Marketing & Events Coordinator, Centre County Historical Society – personal communication
“College Township Landmark Dedication Ceremony,” Mansion Notes: Newsletter of Centre County Historical Society, vol. 27, No. 2, April 2005
Timeline: College Township (1875 -2025) and Forerunners (draft version), compiled by Ron Smith
Town&Gown Magazine Collection at the Centre County Historical Society
