Local Historia

“‘The times have been, That, when the brains were out, the man would die (Macbeth).’ But not so in these times…’” – Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” quoted in the Hanover (Pa) Guardian, […]

This day I confess to my sorrow and shame, I shot Reuben Guild whom I never knew by name. And left his body weltering all in a purple gore, Even […]

In the 18th century, the lands that would become Centre County were harsh to European settlers. Taken by force or treaty from Native American populations who were pushed west, the […]

The War of 1812 is often overlooked, especially its impact on locals in the middle of Pennsylvania. In 1811, George Records was one of the first settlers of what is […]

By the mid-19th century, Centre County stood as a cradle of industry and statesmen in the wilds of the Alleghenies. Ironworks dotted the landscape, logging was at its peak, railroads […]

I recently had the honor of visiting Jimmy Brown (James Robert Brown) at his home in Spring Mills. He and his fiancé, Susan Randolph, had just restored a rare 1861 […]

In Central Pennsylvania, few disasters linger in the memories of our communities like the St. Patrick’s Day flood of March 17, 1936. The winter of 1935-36 was particularly harsh, and […]

Professor John Wise was one of America’s foremost aeronauts in the 19th century. Between 1835 and 1879, the Pennsylvania native made 462 aerial voyages in a variety of handcrafted balloon […]

During the Roaring ’20s, America experienced a cultural revolution that would echo throughout history, breaking from the traditional Victorian values of the previous century and ushering in an era of […]

What do a murder at a Pittsburgh gas station during the Great Depression, a shootout near the Rattlesnake Mountain airmail beacon, and Bellefonte Academy students have in common? The true […]