The Borough of Bellefonte is a

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History ...

in and the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

of Centre County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is approximately 12 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 diamond. 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. The town features many examples of

Victorian architecture Victorian architecture is a series of Revivalism (architecture), architectural revival styles in the mid-to-late 19th century. ''Victorian'' refers to the reign of Queen Victoria (1837–1901), called the Victorian era, during which period the st ...

. It is also home to the natural spring, "la belle fonte". bestowed by Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord during a land-speculation visit to central Pennsylvania in the 1790, from which the town derives its name. The spring, which serves as the town's water supply, has since been covered to comply with DEP water purity laws. The early development of Bellefonte had been as a "natural town." It started with one house and a crossroad, then iron was found and the town grew.

History

William Lamb sold his mill to John Dunlop in 1794. The following year, John’s father James Dunlop and John’s son-in-law James Harris (1756-1841) laid out the town that would become known as Bellefonte. As the years went by, Bellefonte boomed and soon became the most influential town between

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

and

Harrisburg Harrisburg ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat, seat of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Dauphin County. With a population of 50, ...

Bellefonte Historic District

The Bellefonte Historic District was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1977. Other buildings on the National Register of Historic Places are: Bellefonte Armory, Bellefonte Forge House, Brockerhoff Hotel, Centre County Courthouse, Gamble Mill, McAllister-Beaver House, Miles-Humes House, Pennsylvania Match Company, South Ward School, and the William Thomas House. Bellefonte Academy was listed until 2008; it was destroyed by fire in 2004.

Bush House Hotel

Bush House Hotel was built in 1868-69 by Bellefonte attorney and developer Daniel G. Bush. It was one of the first hotels in the country to have electric lights. A man would stand at the train station and call out to the passengers, "Walk ya' to the Bush House." The Brockerhoff House, the Haag House, and other area hotels were competitors. Many notable guests stayed at the Bush House including

Thomas Edison Thomas Alva Edison (February11, 1847October18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These inventions, ...

. The Bush House burned down on February 8, 2006.

The Cadillac Building

This building was designed by pioneering female architect Anna Wagner Keichline, a native of Bellefonte, and originally served as a car dealership with a showroom on first floor, a repair shop on the second, and an office and living space on the third floor. The Cadillac Building, so named because it was originally built as a Cadillac dealership in 1916, was a mix use commercial and residential property hit by a devastating fire on December 22, 2009. Christmas tree lights in one of the apartment units were determined to be the cause. The Cadillac Building was rebuilt in 2016 and is now home to 11 two- and three-bedroom apartment units. It remains a part of the Bellefonte Historic District.

Garman Opera House

The Garman Opera House was originally built in 1890 and hosted many notable stars of the day, including George Burns and

Gracie Allen Grace Ethel Cecile Rosalie Allen (July 26, 1895 – August 27, 1964) was an American vaudevillian, singer, actress, and comedian who became internationally famous as the zany partner and comic foil of husband George Burns, her straight man, ap ...

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

performer Tom Mix, and illusionist and escape artist Harry Houdini. The song " After the Ball" was said to have been first sung in public here. It was eventually also used as a movie theater, first showing silent films and then "talkies." By the early 1960s, the property was converted to primarily commercial/warehouse use. In the 1990s, the building was restored and returned to its roots as a live performance venue and cinema. The opera house was severely damaged by a fire on September 9, 2012 that also destroyed the Garman House Hotel. The cause of the fire has been ruled as arson. Preservationist groups' attempts to save the Garman were unsuccessful and the building was razed in January 2014. Garman House was rebuilt in 2016 and is now home to 21 one and two bedroom apartment units.

Victorian era

First-time visitors who walk along the Victorian streets of Bellefonte see primarily Victorian houses. One of many examples is the Hastings Mansion, which was owned by Mrs. John Lane and was bought and remodeled by Governor Daniel H. Hastings. In the 1800s, the first jail was built. It had a dungeon eight feet underground, which was located on the rear of the lot of the present YMCA. A second jail was on East High Street.

Renaissance

One of the town's historic sections experienced a renaissance in 2004. The ''Match Factory'' (officially the Pennsylvania Match Company), after standing vacant since 1947, was renovated by the American Philatelic Society as their new home, one building at a time. The site was placed on the

in 2001.

Geography

Bellefonte is located in the

Nittany Valley Nittany Valley is an erosion, eroded anticline, anticlinal valley located in Centre County, Pennsylvania, Centre County, Pennsylvania. It is separated from the Bald Eagle Valley by Bald Eagle Mountain and from Penns Valley by Mount Nittany. The va ...

of the Ridge and Valley Appalachians. It lies 12 miles northeast of State College. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of , all land. Bellefonte is surrounded by Spring Township.

Spring Creek A spring creek is a type of free flowing river whose name derives from its origin: an underground Spring (hydrology), spring or set of springs which produces sufficient water to consistently feed a unique river. The water flowing in a spring cree ...

, a tributary of Bald Eagle Creek, runs through Bellefonte and is spanned by the Bellefonte Veterans Bridge. Bellefonte is divided into three electoral wards. The West Ward, which was formerly made up the land west of Spring Creek, now also encompasses Big Spring, and much of the Bellefonte Historic District. The South Ward, which was formerly made up of the area south of High Street and Big Spring, now stretches to include the East End. The North Ward, which was formerly made up of the area north of High Street, now sits east of North Ridge Street and stretches to include Park View Heights.

Demographics

As of the 2010 census, the borough had 6,187 people, 2,837 households, and 1,496 families. The borough was 96.3% White, 1.5% Black or African American, 0.1% Native American, 0.5% Asian, 0.3% other, and 1.3% were two or more races. 1.4% of the population was of Hispanic or Latino ancestry. The population density was . There were 3,038 housing units at an average density of . Of the 2,837 households, 23.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.2% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 3.5% had a male householder with no wife present, 10.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 47.2% were non-families. 38.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.10 and the average family size was 2.81. The population distribution by age was as follows: 18.4% under the age of 18, 9.3% from 18 to 24, 29.5% from 25 to 44, 25.7% from 45 to 64, and 17.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 89.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.9 males. The median income for a household in the borough was $48,211, and the median income for a family was $62,292. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the borough was $26,938. About 4.4% of families and 10.2% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 3.8% of those under age 18 and 11.0% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

The Bellefonte area, as part of Centre County, typically experiences one of the lowest unemployment rates in the state. The primary industries are education, health care, construction, retail, and government.

Major employers

* Bellefonte Area School District *Centre County Government * Geisinger Health System *Graymont *Hilex Poly *Restek *

State Government A state government is the government that controls a subdivision of a country in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonom ...

*Supelco * U.S. Federal Government *

Weis Markets Weis Markets, Inc. (, ), doing business as Weis and stylized as weis, is an American Grocery store, food retailer headquartered in Sunbury, Pennsylvania. It currently operates 200 stores with over 23,000 employees in Pennsylvania, Maryland, New ...

*YMCA of Centre County

Government

Federal

Bellefonte forms part of

Pennsylvania's 15th congressional district Pennsylvania's 15th congressional district has been located in Western Pennsylvania, western and central Pennsylvania since 2019. Since 2023, the district includes all of Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, Armstrong, Cameron County, Pennsylvania, C ...

. The current representative is Glenn "G.T." Thompson.

County

Bellefonte is the

of Centre County and home to the Centre County Courthouse.

Local

The Borough of Bellefonte government is currently run by the following elected officials: * Mayor: Gene "Buddy" Johnson * President of Council: Doug Johnson * Vice President of Council: Kent Bernier * Council Members: **Rita Purnell **Kent Bernier **Deborah Cleeton **Barbara Dann **Johanna Sedwick **Randall Brachbill **Shawna McKeen **Doug Johnson **Joanne Tosti-Vasey

Education

Bellefonte Area School District operates public schools in the borough and wider area. Centre County Christian Academy is a private school located in Bellefonte. Since 1890, Catholic Education has been present in the Bellefonte community and vicinity through Saint John Parochial School. Saint John the Evangelist Roman Catholic School provides 3 and 4 year-old Pre-Kindergarten classes, as well as full-day instruction in Kindergarten through grade

Bellefonte is 10 miles from

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsyl ...

. Joel Rose of

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

said, "These days, it seems everyone in Bellefonte has ties to Penn State, or knows someone who does."

Infrastructure

Transportation

Bellefonte is served by the Centre Area Transportation Authority for local bus service, linking Bellefonte to various points in State College including the Nittany Mall, downtown and the Penn State main campus. The town is also served by the University Park Airport for commercial air travel. Bellefonte does not have passenger train service, with the nearest

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

stations located in Lewistown (approximately 32 miles away) and Tyrone (approximately 35 miles away) and serving Amtrak's '' Pennsylvanian'' train between Pittsburgh and

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Public safety

The law enforcement agency in Bellefonte is the Bellefonte Police Department. The Centre County Sheriff's office is also located in Bellefonte. The Bellefonte Fire Department is made up of two volunteer companies: Logan Fire Company #1 and Undine Fire Company #2. Ambulance service is provided by Bellefonte EMS, which separated from Logan Fire Company in 1994.

Early railroads

Up until 1946 the Bellefonte Central Railroad served the town on a Bellefonte-Lemont (State College) route. Until 1933 the BCR continued the route south to Tyrone over the Pennsylvania Railroad's former Fairbrook Branch. Additionally, the

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad ( reporting mark PRR), legal name as the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, also known as the "Pennsy," was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At its ...

ran passenger trains from Altoona to Williamsport, after Milesburg heading into Bellefonte, then backing out to return to the Bald Eagle Valley Branch's route to continue the trip northeast. The last Altoona - Lock Haven train was between August 1950 and 1951. The PRR also operated trains until the late 1940s from Bellefonte south to Lemont (nearest train station to State College), then east to Northumberland and Sunbury, Pennsylvania.

Turnpikes and roads

A turnpike was created in 1822 after ten years of construction. This turnpike, named The Northumberland and Anderson's Creek Turnpike, connected Bellefonte to Clearfield on the west and Sunbury on the east. Today, Pennsylvania Route 550 runs through the town. Interstate 99/ US Route 220 pass by the eastern outskirts of the town.

Notable people

George Grey Barnard George Grey Barnard (May 24, 1863 – April 24, 1938), often written George Gray Barnard, was an American sculptor who trained in Paris. He is especially noted for his heroic sized ''Struggle of the Two Natures in Man'' at the Metropolitan Museum ...

– sculptor * Alison Bechdel – cartoonist and graphic novelist * Clifford Carlson – former University of Pittsburgh men's college

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

coach * Todd Christensen – former NFL

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

* Doyle Corman – former member of the

Pennsylvania State Senate The Pennsylvania State Senate is the upper house of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, the Pennsylvania state legislature. The State Senate meets in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. Senators are elected for four-year terms, stagger ...

* Jake Corman – member of the

* Andrew Gregg Curtin – Governor of Pennsylvania (1861–1867) * Nathan Alan Cutietta – documentary filmmaker * Robert Alan Cutietta – author, composer, arts leader * Inka Essenhigh – artist * Jonathan Frakes – director, Star Trek actor * Scott Fry – former Director of the Joint Staff for the

United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and superv ...

* Chris Garner – tennis player (R16 in Australian Open 1993) * John Irvin Gregg – Union army general * Daniel H. Hastings – Governor of Pennsylvania (1895–1899) * John W. Heston – former president of three universities * William Harrison Holly – former

United States federal judge In the United States, a federal judge is a judge who serves on a court established under Article Three of the U.S. Constitution. Often called "Article III judges", federal judges include the chief justice and associate justices of the U.S. S ...

* Belle Howard – dramatic reader and music teacher * Merle G. Kearns – former member of the

Ohio House of Representatives The Ohio House of Representatives is the lower house of the Ohio General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio; the other house of the bicameral legislature being the Ohio Senate. The House of Representatives first met in ...

* Anna Keichline – first female architect to be certified in Pennsylvania * James Knepper – former member of the

Pennsylvania House of Representatives The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There are 203 members, elected for two-year terms from single member districts. It ...

* Dereck Lively II – professional basketball player * Eric Milton – Major League Baseball player * David Petrikin – former member of the U.S. House of Representatives * Robert L. Rankin – linguist and scholar of the

Siouan languages Siouan ( ), also known as Siouan–Catawban ( ), is a language family of North America located primarily in the Great Plains, Ohio and Mississippi valleys and southeastern North America with a few other languages in the east. Name Authors who ...

* Thomas M. Reynolds – U.S. Congressman * Jeremy Rose – horse jockey * Joseph A. Smith – artist and professor at the

Pratt Institute Pratt Institute is a private university with its main campus in Brooklyn, New York. It has an additional campus in Manhattan and an extension campus in Utica, New York at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute. The institute was founded in 18 ...

* Matt Suhey –

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

fullback * Glenn Thompson – member of the U.S. House of Representatives * Gregg Troy – college and Olympic swimming coach * Jeff VanderMeer – author, editor, literary critic * David Vogan – mathematician * Jeffrey P. von Arx – President of Fairfield University * Richard L. Walker – author and former

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

* John Montgomery Ward – Hall of Fame baseball player

References

External links

Bellefonte and surrounding area official community, dining, events and tourism website

Borough of Bellefonte governmental website

Bellefonte Intervalley Area Chamber of Commerce
{{authority control 1795 establishments in Pennsylvania Boroughs in Centre County, Pennsylvania County seats in Pennsylvania Nittany Valley Populated places established in 1795