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Resource Links

Centre County PAGenWeb Project, which is part of the PAGenWeb Project and USGenWeb Project, contains helpful information such as Centre County query boards, cemeteries, census records, research facilities, family reunions, township/borough histories, and so much more.
Family History Center
State College Family History Center
842 Whitehall Rd., State College, PA 16801
Open to the public during the following hours:
Tuesday 9:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. & 6:30 p.m.-9:00 p.m.
Wednesday 9:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. & 6:30 p.m.-9:00 p.m.
Thursday 6:30-9:00 p.m. (note: opens at 6:00 p.m. when CCGS meetings are at LDS Church) For special arrangements, please call the Center at 814-238-4560 during the above hours, or call 238-1048 or 238-7183 after hours. Microfilm/microfiche orders are placed on Wednesday.
Centre County Library and Historical Museum
   The Pennsylvania Room of the Library houses a large collection that focuses on Centre County and Pennsylvania history and genealogy. It includes a specialized collection of over 3000 volumes devoted exclusively to these topics, in addition to original Centre County records, newspapers, vertical files, and various historical and genealogical periodicals. An on-line catalog is available for the Pennsylvania Room and Centre County Library, as well as other Centre County public libraries. For answers to brief, simple questions you may email the Pennsylvania Room, however, more difficult problems must be dealt with by snail mail (be sure to include a SASE)!
The Centre County Library and Historical Museum
203 North Allegheny St., Bellefonte, PA 16823
814-355-1516
Monday - Friday 10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m
Saturday 10:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m
Please note policy...no briefcases, backpacks, etc. allowed in the Pennsylvania Room. Visitors must sign-in and request probate records from the Librarian.
Centre County Mailing List on RootsWeb is a great way to communicate and share information with other Centre County researchers.
Penns Valley Area Historical Museum
244 West Aaron Square, Aaronsburg, PA 16820
Saturday & Sunday 1:00 p.m.- 5:00 p.m.
814-349-4811.
Pattee/Paterno Libraries on Penn State Campus
   The Penn State University Libraries, better known as Pattee Library and Paterno Library, do not have a separate genealogy room, but they do have a large number of resources that are of use to genealogists. Pattee has the census films, with all available indexes, for Pennsylvania, and the 1880 census (with soundex) for the state of Ohio. Pattee also holds many valuable county and church histories. Paterno resources include many maps, Government Documents, and Special Collections. The Penn State University Libraries on-line catalog is known as LIAS.
Monday-Thurday 7:45 a.m.-midnight
Friday 7:45 a.m.-9:00 p.m.
Saturday 8:00 a.m.-9:00 p.m.
Sunday Noon until midnight
When library is open until midnight, microforms room (censuses, etc.) closes at 10:00 p.m.
814-865-2112
Special Collections Library
Monday-Friday 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
Preservation Department
Monday-Friday 7:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
Some useful online resources:
  • PA's Past: Digital Bookshelf (enter "Centre County" in subject search for Centre County histories and the 1890 Centre County directory/census)
  • Pennsylvania's Civil War Newspapers (includes Centre County's Democratic Watchman 1855-1871!)
  • Historical Digital Collegian Archive (1887-1987)
  • Pennsylvania German Broadsides and Fraktur
  • Centre County Government
    Centre County Courthouse
    Allegheny St., Bellefonte, PA 16823
    Prothonotary and Clerk of Courts
    814-355-6796
    Centre County Government, Willowbank Building
    Register of Wills
    814-355-6724
    Recorder of Deeds
    814-355-6801
    Monday-Friday 8:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
    Centre County Historical Society
    The Centre Daily Times is the local newspaper.
    Pennsylvania Department of Health Vital Records for information on obtaining these records. Beginning in 1906, Pennsylvania birth and death records have been kept by the state and there is no public index. From about 1893 through 1905, birth and death records were kept by the counties, however, these records may be incomplete and there is no central index to them. You will need to contact the appropriate county for additional information. Marriage records begin in the mid-1880's, and are not available from the state. They are kept by the county where the license was issued.
    Access Pennsylvania Database is an on-line catalog for various public, school, college, and specialized libraries throughout the state of Pennsylvania. The holdings of the Centre County Library and the Penn State University Libraries are also searchable from this site.
    WorldCat is a search tool to locate books and more in libraries around the world.
    Neighboring Counties' Genealogical/Historical Societies
    Blair County Genealogical Society
    Blair County Historical Society
    Clearfield County Historical Society
    Clinton County Genealogical Society
    Clinton County Historical Society
    Huntingdon County Historical Society
    Mifflin County Historical Society
    Union County Historical Society
    and also The Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania