Historic Centre Furnace Mansion

"History will be kind to me, for I intend to write it." - Winston Churchill.

What an unexpected tiny but delightful adventure I had on this day! And to think, it all started because of a book: a book about trees, to be most accurate. I am an absolute fiend about trying to find and photograph interesting trees, and a friend had recommended to me a book about the notable trees of Centre County. There was just one place that sold it, though: our local historical association, whose offices are located in the Centre Furnace Mansion. And so I decided I must go there and buy that book.

I had plans with dear girlfriends to have lunch at Harrison's on College Ave. on this day. And Harrison's is quite conveniently a mere three minutes or so from the Centre Furnace Mansion. Perfect! I would stop by quickly after my lunch date and snag my copy of the book from the little museum shop inside the mansion.

And so I did stop by after a lovely lunch, and first, I had a quick look around the grounds. In the main photo above, you can see an historic American sycamore tree that was alive at the time of the signing of the Constitution, framed through a garden trellis. My new tree book tells me that the sycamore is at least 100 feet tall, with a circumference of more than 18 feet around. In the background is the mansion itself.

I tried the door by the museum shop, but it was locked. A note posted there said to go around the side and ring the bell and someone would let you in. So I did! And a woman came to the door and greeted me and led me downstairs to the little gift shop, which had many interesting local history books. I found there the book I wanted, and best of all, it only cost five dollars.

I asked if I might take a few minutes to look around inside the mansion and take some pictures, as I had never been inside the building before, and I had my camera with me. And then the woman I originally met turned me over to a younger woman, who did me the great courtesy of taking me around through the mansion and simply turning on enough lights so that I could see the rooms and get some photos.

The exterior of the building is a bit spooky looking, I think, a bit like the Bates Hotel in the movie Psycho. But the interior, surprisingly enough, is gorgeous! There are several floors of rooms, all beautifully decked out: bedrooms, kitchens, dining rooms, rooms for music and entertaining. I wished I had more time, but I was expected elsewhere, so I saw as much as I could see in the 10 minutes that I spent inside, and then quickly said my thank-you's, and left to go back to work.

I'll link you to the historical association's website about Centre Furnace Mansion, which will provide more of the details that may be of interest. I'm quoting this bit, to share here:

"Welcome to the Centre Furnace Mansion. The Mansion, which served as the iron master's residence for Centre Furnace, has been restored and furnished to reflect the period of residency (1842-1891) of ironmaster Moses Thompson and his family. In 1855, Moses Thompson and business partner James Irvin donated 200 acres of land to initiate the Farmers’ High School – which later became The Pennsylvania State University."

The song to accompany this little slice of history is Sam Cooke's marvelous tune, Wonderful World (which begins with the line, "Don't know much about history; don't know much biology"). I'm including both the original song itself, as well as its best use that I know of in any film: for the charming dance scene in the barn, from the Harrison Ford/Kelly McGillis movie, Witness.