Bellefonte is a borough and the county seat of Centre County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is about twelve miles northeast of State College and is part of the State College, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area. The borough population was 6,187 at the 2010 Census. It houses the Centre County Courthouse located downtown on the square. Bellefonte has also been home to five of Pennsylvania's governors as well as two other governors. All seven are commemorated in a monument located at Talleyrand Park.
Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site in southeastern Berks County, near Elverson, Pennsylvania, is an example of an American 19th century rural "iron plantation," whose operations were based around a charcoal-fired cold-blast iron blast furnace. The significant restored structures include the furnace group (blast furnace, water wheel, blast machinery, cast house and charcoal house), as well as the ironmaster's house, a company store, the blacksmith's shop, a barn and several worker's houses.
Speedwell Forge Mansion, also known as Speedwell Forge Homestead, is a historic home located at Elizabeth Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The ironmaster's mansion was built about 1760, and is a 2½-story, four bay wide and two bay deep, brownstone and fieldstone dwelling in the Georgian style. It was expanded about 1795 with a Georgian/Federal style wing. Also on the property are a contributing stone summer kitchen, stone and frame workshop, stone paymaster's office c. 1795), and stone privy.
James Irvin was an American politician. Irvin was a prominent agriculturalist and ironmaster in Centre County, Pennsylvania. Irvin represented Pennsylvania's 14th congressional district in the 27th and 28th Congresses. Irvin unsuccessfully ran for governor of Pennsylvania in 1847, losing to incumbent governor Francis Rawn Shunk.
John Wesley Gephart was a Bellefonte, Pennsylvania lawyer and industrialist. Educated in Bellefonte and at Princeton University, Gephart's diligence and intelligence were already marked when he was admitted to the bar at the end of 1876 and joined the Bellefonte law practice of James A. Beaver in 1877. He took a prominent part in the civic and moral life of the town, and enjoyed a reputation as a skillful lawyer and charismatic orator. In 1891, he became president of the newly organized Valentine Iron Company, and thereafter became increasingly devoted to furthering industry and commerce in his home town. He laid aside his legal practice in 1893, after becoming the superintendent of the new Central Railroad of Pennsylvania, to become a full-time industrialist.
Nittany Furnace, known earlier as Valentine Furnace, was a hot blast iron furnace located in Spring Township, Centre County, Pennsylvania, United States. Placed in operation in 1888 on the site of an older furnace, it was an important feature of Bellefonte economic life until it closed in 1911, no longer able to compete with more modern steel producers.
The Bald Eagle and Spring Creek Navigation Company was a canal company in central Pennsylvania intended to link the iron industry of Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, with the Pennsylvania canal system. Opened for half its length in 1837, the remainder of the canal was not completed until 1848. Destroyed by flooding in 1865, it was not rebuilt; a paralleling railroad completed that year replaced it.
Edmund Blanchard was a lawyer and prominent businessman in Centre County, Pennsylvania. He was an early promoter of rail transportation in the area.
The Coventryville Historic District is a historic district and historic village in Chester County, Pennsylvania that occupied a significant role in the early American metal industry.
Bellefonte Furnace was a hot blast iron furnace located in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1888, it was the first hot blast, coke-fueled iron furnace to be built in Centre County, Pennsylvania. While its founders hoped to transform Centre County's iron industry with modern technology, the furnace struggled to operate at a profit and was out of operation from 1893 until 1899. Thereafter, it operated more or less continuously until 1910, and was demolished four years later. It should not be confused with the charcoal-fueled Bellefonte Furnace and Forge on Logan Branch, which was replaced by Valentine Furnace.
Isabella Furnace was a cold blast charcoal iron furnace located in West Nantmeal Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania. The furnace was named for Isabella Potts, wife of one of the partners, a member of the Potts ironmaking family. Isabella was the last iron furnace to be built in the county, in 1835, and was operated by members of the Potts family and their partners until 1855, when they lost control of it in a bankruptcy. It returned to the family in 1881, when it was purchased by Col. Joseph Potts, who modernized it. The furnace, the last to operate in Chester County, went out of blast in 1894, a few months after Col. Potts' death, but remained largely intact until after his son's death in 1943. The remains of the furnace complex have been listed in the National Register of Historic Places since 1991.
Bellefonte Historic District is a national historic district located at Bellefonte, Centre County, Pennsylvania. The district encompasses 296 contributing buildings in the central business district and surrounding residential area of Bellefonte. The oldest building in the district is the Col. James Dunlop House dated to 1795. Notable non-residential buildings include the St. John's Roman Catholic Church, Crider Exchange (1889), Temple Court Building (1894), First National Bank Building, W.F. Reynolds and Co. Bank Building, and Pennsylvania Railroad Station. Located in the district and listed separately are the Brockerhoff Hotel, Centre County Courthouse, Gamble Mill, McAllister-Beaver House, and Miles-Humes House. The Bellefonte Academy and the Bush House Hotel were previously listed on the register until they burned to the ground in 2004 and 2006, respectively.
Harmony Forge Mansion is a historic home and property. Originally it was the site of the Harmony Forge/Milesburg Iron Works, today the Harmony Forge Mansion survives, along with a large antique barn and a number of other outbuildings. It is a historic home and property located at Bellefonte, Centre County, Pennsylvania. It was built between 1810 and 1820 by Joseph Miles. The Harmony Forge property dates back to the 1790s. The site is a landmark of the charcoal iron industry that prospered in Central Pennsylvania following the conclusion of the Revolutionary War. The iron forge was constructed in 1795, on property purchased by Colonel Samuel Miles. Construction was supervised by ironmaster John Dunlop and the firm of Miles, Patton and Miles. The construction of the mansion followed sometime thereafter, and can be dated to sometime between 1796 and 1820. Colonel Miles never settled in Centre County, instead sending his sons John and Joseph to manage the forge and lay out the town of "Milesborough", now Milesburg, circa 1793.
Miles-Humes House, also known as the Potter Home, is a historic home located at Bellefonte, Centre County, Pennsylvania. It currently serves as the Centre County Library & Historical Museum.
Logan Furnace Mansion is a historic home located at Spring Township, Centre County, Pennsylvania. It is an "L"-shaped building, consisting of a 2+1⁄2-story, 5-bay stone main house, with a 2-story, stone kitchen ell. The ell was the original home, built 1798 to 1800, and the main house was built in 1818.The house and iron furnace were built by John Dunlop. As of 1826 the furnace was capable of 1200 tons of pig iron per year. The stone house, a few large mill stones, and an iron workers house are still visible. Info from Linn's History of Centre County Pa.
Barree Forge and Furnace, now known as Greene Hills Methodist Camp, is a national historic district located at Porter Township in Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania. It consists of two contributing buildings, one contributing site, and one contributing structure associated with a former ironworks. They are the ironmaster's mansion, furnace stack, a barn, and the site of the Barree iron forge built about 1797. The ironmaster's mansion was built in the 1830s, and is a 2 1/2-story brick house painted white. The furnace stack dates to 1864, and is a 30-foot square, coursed limestone structure. It measures between 6 and 15 feet tall. The ironworks closed in the 1880s. The property was acquired in 1963, by the United Methodist Church for use as a church camp.
Codorus Forge and Furnace Historic District, also known as Hellem (Hellam) Forge, is a historic iron forge and national historic district located at Hellam Township in York County, Pennsylvania. The district includes four contributing buildings, one contributing site, and one contributing structure. The contributing buildings are the iron furnace, charcoal house, ruins of works' houses, ironmaster's house and furnace office, privy, forge (1800), and ruins of unknown structures. The furnace measures approximately 30 feet square at the base and 12 feet high. The ironmaster's house is a 2 1/2-story, stuccoed stone building, nine bays wide and one room deep. The Hellem (Hellam) Forge was first established in 1765.
Poole Forge is a historic iron forge complex and national historic district located at Narvon, Caernarvon Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The district includes five contributing buildings and two contributing structures. They are the Ironmaster's Mansion, Paymaster's Building, spring house, two tenant houses, and ruins of a lime kiln and Pool Forge Covered Bridge. The oldest section of the Ironmaster's Mansion was built about 1779. It is an "L"-shaped building built of brownstone and ironstone with Federal style details.
Windsor Forge Mansion, also known as Windsor Place, is a historic home and national historic district located at Caernarvon Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The property was once owned by the well known local Van Leer family, who owned several nearby by Iron businesses. Dr. Bernardhus Van Leer with partners were listed as owners. The district includes four contributing buildings and three contributing objects. The buildings are the Ironmaster's Mansion, stone smokehouse, stone spring house, and stone summer kitchen / servant's quarters. The three objects are pieces by noted artist and poet Blanche Nevin (1841–1925), who purchased Windsor Forge Mansion in 1899. Her grandfather Robert Jenkins (1769–1848) had previously been ironmaster and congressman. The oldest section of the Ironmaster's Mansion was built about 1742; the western section was built about 1765, and the connecting middle section about 1815. A shed roof porch was added in 1899, at which time it was generally renovated. The house is 2+1⁄2 stories and built of stone. Nevin added a studio to the house.
The Swatara Furnace is a historic iron furnace and 200-acre national historic district located along Mill Creek, a tributary of the Swatara Creek in Pine Grove Township, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania.
