Project Location: Centre County, Pennsylvania Pennsylvania’s Centre County straddles two geographic regions: the eastern part of the county lies within the Ridge and Valley Region of central Pennsylvania while the western part of the county falls in the Appalachian Plateau Region of western Pennsylvania. The Allegheny Mountains, which trend diagonally across the middle of the county from northeast to southwest, separate these two geographic regions. Thus, the eastern and western parts of Centre County are not only strikingly different in topography and geology, but each has experienced very different patterns of settlement and development. The fortuitous combination of waterpower, iron ore, readily accessible timber, and nearby limestone deposits along the mountains led to the establishment of several iron forges and furnaces at the foot of the Allegheny Mountains. By 1800, the eastern part of the County was sufficiently populated to justify the creation of Centre County with its county seat at Bellefonte. Even today, population of Centre County is clustered in the eastern part of the county especially in the areas around Bellefonte and State College, while the more remote countryside in the northeastern part of the county is dotted with farms, small towns, and villages. Philipsburg and Snow Shoe are the principal town centers in the western part of Centre County. The landscape in the western part of Centre County is dominated by the rough, heavily wooded, mountainous terrain characteristic of the crest and western slope of the Allegheny Mountains. The soils are generally poor and unsuitable for commercial farming. Most of the western part of Centre County is covered by dense forests, much of which is second-growth woodland. At present, approximately half of the land on the western slope has been set aside for public recreation or forest conservation. Philipsburg is situated on the western edge of Centre County in the valley of the Moshannon Creek below the mouth of ColdStream. Although the town stands on relatively level ground, it is completely surrounded by rugged mountains. According to George Schultz’s sketch map of Philipsburg in 1813 , the town was laid out adjacent to the site of a Native American encampment at Point Lookout. The encampment was supposedly inhabited when the first settlers arrived in Philipsburg, and continued to be inhabited, at least on a casual basis, during the early years of this settlement.

A.D. Marble & Company 919 Conestoga Road, Building 1, Suite 202 • Rosemont, PA 19010 Tel. (610) 527-9311 • Fax (610) 527-5646