Graysdale is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

in Patton Township,

Centre County, Pennsylvania Centre County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 158,172. Its county seat is Bellefonte. Centre County comprises the State College, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area. History The lands ...

, United States, located at .

History and geography

The Red Bank Branch of the

Bellefonte Central Railroad The Bellefonte Central Railroad was a shortline connecting Bellefonte and State College, Pennsylvania. Constructed in the late 19th century to haul local iron ore to furnaces in the Bellefonte region, it later hauled freight traffic to Penn St ...

, from Mattern Junction to Red Bank, was built through the town ''circa'' 1887. The branch was built to carry iron ore, the mining of which supported Graysdale and other local towns. It was cut back to end in Graysdale in 1894 due to the shutdown of Bellefonte Furnace, the principal consumer of the local ore; however, the furnace re-opened under new management in the 1890s, and was back to near-full capacity by 1900. Ore mining resumed, the line from Graysdale to Mattern Bank was re-laid in 1900, and a new branch was built from Graysdale to

Scotia Scotia is a Latin placename derived from ''Scoti'', a Latin name for the Gaels, first attested in the late 3rd century.Duffy, Seán. ''Medieval Ireland: An Encyclopedia''. Routledge, 2005. p.698 The Romans referred to Ireland as "Scotia" around ...

; however, the furnace was unable to compete with more modern iron and steel mills, and shut down again, permanently in 1910. The McNitt-Huyett Lumber Company laid a third rail on the line from Mattern Junction to Scotia around this time, to operate its 36-inch (91.44 cm) logging trains, but both the lumber company and the Bellefonte Central removed their tracks through Graysdale in 1915. With the cessation of logging and iron mining, the area largely became vacant. The area is now a residential development, a

bedroom community A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...

for Penn State.

References

External links

* {{authority control Nittany Valley Unincorporated communities in Centre County, Pennsylvania Unincorporated communities in Pennsylvania