History of Bellefonte
Built on natural resources, water, iron, and wood, Bellefonte represents a booming time in history. But times change. So what now?
Today’s resources include, cultural (American Philatelic Society, Railroad, etc.), historic (Governors, Victorian Architecture, etc.) and natural (kayaking, fishing, etc.). “Heritage Tourism” is the next boom.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation defines heritage tourism as traveling to experience the places, artifacts, and activities that authentically represent the stories and people of the past and present. It includes visitation to cultural, historic, and natural resources.
Today’s Waterfront has taken over 20 years to evolve from the Match Factory to the recent sale of the Gamble Mill and now the Waterfront Promenade.
Waterfront Developments
Waterfront Hospitality Hotel
Noteable Guests
Amelia Earhart
Earhart was the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. She set many other records, wrote best-selling books about her flying experiences, and was instrumental in the formation of The Ninety-Nines, an organization for female pilots.
Henry Ford
An American industrialist and a business magnate, the founder of the Ford Motor Company, and the sponsor of the development of the assembly line technique of mass production.
Thomas Edison
An American inventor and businessman. His inventions, which include the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and the long-lasting, practical electric light bulb, have had a widespread impact on the modern industrialized world.
Bush House Noteable Dates
1869 “Ranked as one of the most perfectly appointed and commodious hotels in central Pennsylvania.“
1928 Sold and renamed the Penn Belle Hotel.
1974 Bush House name restored.
2006 Fire.
The historic Bush House
(Credit: Fred Smith Collection)
Waterfront Transportation Railroad
A map illustrating the property, in 1922, of the Bellefonte Fuel and Supply Company.
Bellefonte Fuel and Supply Co. Noteable Dates
1865 Bellefonte and Snow Shoe Railroad Company building built.
1874 Served as company offices and scales.
1887 Harrison & Budd Coal yard acquires property.
1892 Hoover & Miller Coal yard becomes new owner.
1894 Name changed to Bellefonte Fuel and Supply Company.
1926 Bellefonte Fuel and Supply Company incorporates.
1944 Kofman’s and Keystone Moving and Storage Company moves in in support of Titan Metals and Cerro.
1994 The Ham Store, Inc. purchases the property.
Waterfront Industrialization - Silk Mill
The building originally constructed by the J.H. & C.K. Eagle Textile Company around 1920.
J.H. & C.K. Eagle Textile Company Notable Dates
1920 The J.H. & C.K. Eagle Textile Company was incorporated.
1939 Titan Metal Manufacturing Company purchases the property.
1964 Cerro Copper and Brass Company replaces Titan and expands.
1976 Cerro-Marmon Corporation merger.
1997 Sold to BellJay Corp.
Waterfront Industrialization - Grist Mill
The Gamble Mill
Gamble Mill Noteable Dates
1786 William Lamb constructed grist mill along west bank of Spring Creek.
1892 Fire.
1894 Owners, Gerberich, Hale & Co., erected the present millof roller process machinery shortly afterwards on the limestone foundations of the original mill.
1923 George Gamble, building’s namesake owner, retires.
1829 Bellefonte Borough installs turbine pump to get water from the “Big Spring” to a growing community.
1947 Milling operations stop.
1985 Ted Conklin gets mill placed on Nation’s Register of Historic Places.
1994 Gamble Mill Restaurant opens.
2019 Gamble Mill sold.
Waterfront Transportation Canal
The location of the BESC Navigation Company's canal
Bald Eagle Spring Creek (BESC) Navigation Company Notable Dates
1825 New York State opened its Erie Canal. The “Big Ditch.”
1826 The “Canal Era”. 1,235 miles of hand-dug canals in Pennsylvania.
1827 Spring Creek declared a “public highway.”
1834 Bald Eagle and Spring Creek Navigation Co. established.
1848 Upper Division,” Howard Furnace to Bellefonte opened. First boat: George Crane, Sept. 1, 1848, from Bellefonte Lock #1 to Baltimore.
1865 Floods wreak havoc and railroads take over.
