Centre County Historical Society | State College

Centre County Historical Society - Detailed Overview

Mission & Scope
The Centre County Historical Society (CCHS) preserves, interprets, and promotes the history of Centre County, Pennsylvania-from its Indigenous cultures through industrial ironmaking, agriculture, education, and modern community life. It collects artifacts, documents, photographs, and oral histories while operating historic sites and offering educational programs for all ages.

Founding & Governance

Established 1904 by local civic leaders and Penn State faculty.

Chartered as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit; governed by a volunteer board of directors (21 members) with professional staff overseeing daily operations and curation.

Affiliated with the Pennsylvania Federation of Museums and Historical Organizations.

Headquarters & Main Site: Centre Furnace Mansion

Location: 1001 East College Avenue, State College.

Mansion built 1830 – 1840 as the ironmaster’s residence for Centre Furnace, the county’s pioneering charcoal ironworks (1791).

Restored 1992–1998 to Greek Revival–Victorian appearance; furnished with 19th-century decorative arts and ironmaking artifacts.

Houses interpretive exhibits, reference library, archives, offices, and a museum store.

Grounds include the restored 1842 summer kitchen, a formal Victorian garden, and an heirloom vegetable plot.

Additional Properties

Boogersburg School (built 1877): One-room rural schoolhouse in Patton Township, furnished to its 1920s era; open for tours and living-history programs.

Linden Hall Historic District support: CCHS collaborates on preservation planning for ironmaster homes, workers’ cottages, and the Oak Hall Furnace stack.

Collections & Archives

40,000+ cataloged items: textiles, furniture, tools, maps, business ledgers, personal diaries, and over 150,000 photographs and negatives.

Special strengths: iron industry artifacts, Penn State founding documents, Bellefonte Victorian cultural life, military service materials from the Civil War through Iraq.

Archival reading room open by appointment; digital catalog accessible on-site with high-resolution scans available for researchers.

Exhibitions

Permanent galleries: “Forging Ahead: Ironmaking in Centre County,” “From Frontier to University Town,” and period-decorated parlors and bedrooms.

Rotating shows change twice a year, featuring themes such as Centre County women in science, Depression-era agriculture, and local Indigenous archaeology. Traveling panel exhibits available for schools and libraries.

Programs & Events

Monthly lecture series (“Sunday Afternoon at the Mansion”) featuring historians, authors, and artisans.

Annual Old-Fashioned Fourth of July with colonial games, music, and mansion tours.

Heritage Garden workshops on heirloom seed saving, beekeeping, and 19th-century foodways.

Fall Stocking Stuffer Antiques & Fine Art Sale, the society’s largest fundraiser.

School outreach: curriculum-aligned field trips, traveling trunks, and virtual classroom sessions.

Publications

Semi-annual journal Centre County History Quarterly with peer-reviewed articles.

Walking tour guides for Bellefonte, Milesburg, and Boalsburg historic districts.

Collaborative local history books, most recently Iron, Timber, and Town: The Making of Centre County (2023).

Volunteering & Membership

Over 200 active volunteers assist with docenting, archival processing, gardening, and special events.

Membership tiers from Student to Patron provide free admission, newsletter, event discounts, and reciprocal benefits at Time Travelers partner museums.

Funding & Support

Operates on a $600,000 annual budget: 40 % membership and donations, 25 % events, 20 % grants, 15 % museum store and facility rentals.

Endowment managed through Centre Foundation sustains long-term preservation projects.

Visitor Information

Centre Furnace Mansion open Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday 1 – 4 p.m.; group tours by appointment.

Free on-site parking; CATA bus Red Link stops nearby.

Suggested donation $5; CCHS members and children under 6 admitted free.

Accessibility: first floor, restrooms, and garden paths ADA-compliant; archive lift available with notice.

Future Initiatives

Digitization of 10,000 glass-plate negatives slated for completion 2026.

Construction of a climate-controlled collections annex to break ground 2027.

Partnership with Penn State’s Center for Virtual/Material Studies to create 3D scans of key artifacts for interactive online exhibits.