The Beauty Around Us

A Stroll through Bellefonte

By Linda G. on July 18, 2014

We spent two nights (July 11 and July 12) in State College PA at the Best Western Plus University Inn & Suites. We traveled to State College via motorcycle, departing home around 10:00 am on July 11.  We checked into the hotel around 1:30 pm.  The purpose of our weekend stay in State College was to attend the Bell Family Reunion.  In addition to socializing with family members, we had an opportunity to do a little sightseeing in Bellefonte, which was located just 6 miles from our hotel.

The borough of Bellefonte, which is located about 12 miles northeast of State College, is the county seat of Centre County.  We took a stroll through Talleyrand Park, up High Street and along Allegheny Street.

We spent about an hour walking through Talleyrand Park. The park is beautiful!

A brick walkway leads past a historic train station and a gazebo to a pergola.

Talleyrand Park is home to a historic train station.

The Bellefonte Train Station was built in 1889 and was renovated in 1975-1976.  Today the train station houses the Chamber of Commerce.  The train tracks lead across a bridge that you see in the photograph displayed below.

The Pennsylvania Match Company, adjacent to Talleyrand Park, is on the other side of the tracks. The Match Company was once one of the eight largest producers of wooden matches in the US. The Match Company closed in the late 1940s.  The red brick buildings stood vacant for over 50 years until the American Philatelic Society purchased the complex in 2002, renovating the structure for its own use as well as making space available for other commercial tenants.

There is a waterfall on Spring Creek, as well as a beautiful suspension bridge that crosses the waterway.

Five of Pennsylvania’s governors, as well as two other governors, lived in Bellefonte.

From Talleyrand Park we walked up High Street to the Centre County Courthouse.

From the courthouse we walked along Allegheny Street to the Hastings Mansion.

The Centre County Courthouse and the Hastings Mansion are only two examples of the beautiful historic structures located in Bellefonte.  We enjoyed our stroll through Bellefonte very much.