Updates From the Centre County Historical Society

This Growing Greener project, funded by a grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, has been developed to help in the restoration and protection of the Thompson Run sub-basin of the Spring Creek Watershed. Reintroduced to the landscape of this historic Centre Furnace site is a meandering course of a partly restored, partly simulated Thompson Run. It has been designed to help tell the story of Centre Furnace and its relationship to Spring Creek, while better handling and slowing down stormwater runoff. Archaeological remains of some of the buildings that were once part of this iron furnace operation still can be seen.

Charcoal iron manufacturing at Centre Furnace figured significantly in the life of the Spring Creek Watershed. Excellent quality iron ore - central Pennsylvania's "gold" - was discovered near here in the late 1700s. It brought settlement, wealth, and political clout to the area, and an industrial center that drove and supported community development for decades.

Though times have changed, the roots of today's land use patterns lie in local history. Centre Furnace represents the beginnings of early settlement, early industry, and of The Pennsylvania State University. It also represents the beginnings of the area's agricultural economy. Penn State, in turn, represents the beginnings of another enterprise, education, and with it the growth and development of State College and Centre County.