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BELLEFONTE -- The Centre County Commissioners recently approved three letters of support for America250 PA Grant Funding.
The three entities that requested letters were the Roland Curtin Foundation, the Happy Valley Adventure Bureau and the Centre County Historical Society.
The Roland Curtin Foundation would put the grant towards the Centre Rail Excursions project for the preservation of Eagle Furnace.
Sue Hannegan spoke to the commissioners about the grant, and what they plan to use the requested $2.3 million for.
The money will be put towards the reconstruction of rail elements that are currently gone -- such as the company store, the railroad station, the siding and amenities.
"(These elements) are needed to make that a premier destination for rail excursions in Centre County and beyond," said Hannegan.
If they receive the funding, the construction is expected to finish by 2026 -- just in time for the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
"We intend to start that project as soon as we receive acknowledgement, if we're lucky to be in those shoes," said Hannegan.
"This clearly fits square in the middle of highlighting what is important history in Pennsylvania, in terms of our past with the iron works there, that's been critical to the economy of Central Pennsylvania and having a train station there would allow people to come from Bellefonte, or maybe someday from Lemont all the way through, to be able to see all of the attractions there and learn more about our heritage here," said Commissioner Amber Concepcion.
The Happy Valley Adventure Bureau (HVAB) is looking for funding to put towards the Tourism Historic Rail Excursion Infrastructure Development project.
Fritz Smith, president and CEO of the HVAB, said that the grant is "a little out of the box" for what the HVAB typically applies for.
"Usually we're requesting money to market the Commonwealth, and while there may be a component of that here we're really playing a coordinating role here. We really view this railroad excursion revitalization as (trying to) connect the various sites," said Smith.
He noted the $1 million will allow them to focus on site improvements, such as purchasing railroad cars, rehabilitation of stock and railroad construction for siding/track needed to link destinations -- with the long term vision of a Lock Haven to Tyrone connection.
"The purpose of this is to consolidate the effort between other applicants. We are interdependent components of a larger project to create a rail destination for Centre County that links Bald Eagle Nittany Valley Railroad and the Joint Rail Authority into providing rail excursions that travel across both of those rail lines," said Hannegan.
Commissioner Mark Higgins acknowledged the history of the railroad in the area, and noted what other counties in the Commonwealth do.
"Other areas with the type of history that we have here in Centre County connect them by rail, making for a more interesting experience. A little bit different for the people from out of the county. I know the kids in the county and surrounding counties absolutely love being on historic train cars," said Higgins.
The final letter of support was for the Centre County Historical Society to fund a new Center for Cultural and Historical Preservation adjacent to the Centre Furnace Mansion.
Centre County Historical Society Executive Director Mary Sorensen and President Roger Williams explained what their $6.5 million in grant funding would go towards, should they receive it.
"I think this is an amazing opportunity for us," said Sorensen. "We have proposed a project to acquire and convert the adjacent property to the Centre Furnace Mansion… We hope to convert this property into a visitor/museum space."
According to Sorensen, the space sits at a confluence of Penn State University and State College -- a perfect area to open a visitors space and give the Historical Society an option to expand programing.
The grant money would also help the rehabilitation of the building, as well as landscaping, trail creation and more.
"The Centre Furnace site represents the 18th century beginnings of the iron industry in Centre County and also the 19th century founding of Penn State University. I feel it's an apt location for us to move forward with something like this," said Sorensen.
"The proposal that Mary has just talked about represents a moon shot for the Centre County Historical Society. It would be a game changer for us and, we believe, Centre County. It would allow us to do a lot more in terms of contributing to the fast-growing Centre County tourism economy... It would change everything for us," said Williams.
Commissioner Steven Dershem praised all three projects, saying, "It's important that we maintain a real understanding and appreciation of our history. All three projects are very good. It can't be understated that this area has so much rich history that we need to make sure we not only preserve but market to the future generations."
All three letters of support were approved unanimously. According to the America250 website awardees will be announced in April 2024.