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A−History
History · Centre Hall

Centre Hall dates to 1847, and 45% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 76% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Below: 12 old photos and papers, maps from 1924 on, and the census since 1880.

1847founded
0on the National Register
45%homes built before 1940
12old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Centre Hall’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Centre Hall began

When was Centre Hall founded?

1847

Centre Hall dates its founding to 1847 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 350 in 18802020 census: 1,268179 years

How historic is Centre Hall?

A−

More historic than 76% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1847.
History grade

What drives Centre Hall’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Centre Hall is more historic than 76% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Centre Hall’s overall grade.
Founding era1847, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194045.0% of homes (±20.3) · typical PA town 17.7% · U.S. 8.4%A+National RegisterNo listings counted · typical PA town 2.1 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 76%
NewerOlder

Pennsylvania towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Pennsylvania town has 2.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Centre Hall’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (25% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1847.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±20.3 points).

Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Centre Hall’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A town in old photos12 old photos, postcards and papers, 1874–1933.Old housesHalf of Centre Hall’s homes were built before 1952.Deep rootsEstablished in 1847: 179 years of Centre Hall.On the map since 19244 editions of the USGS map, 1924 to 1998. Watch Centre Hall change.
★ What stands out · By decade

Centre Hall, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1870s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1870s1 item
Atlas of Centre County, Pennsylvania1874Atlas of Centre County, PennsylvaniaMap
1930s11 items
HABS PA,14-CENHA.V,1- (sheet 0 of 10) - Old Fort Tavern1933HABS PA,14-CENHA.V,1- (sheet 0 of 10) - Old Fort Tave…HABS PA,14-CENHA.V,1- (sheet 1 of 10) - Old Fort Tavern1933HABS PA,14-CENHA.V,1- (sheet 1 of 10) - Old Fort Tave…HABS PA,14-CENHA.V,1- (sheet 10 of 10) - Old Fort Tavern1933HABS PA,14-CENHA.V,1- (sheet 10 of 10) - Old Fort Tav…HABS PA,14-CENHA.V,1- (sheet 2 of 10) - Old Fort Tavern1933HABS PA,14-CENHA.V,1- (sheet 2 of 10) - Old Fort Tave…HABS PA,14-CENHA.V,1- (sheet 3 of 10) - Old Fort Tavern1933HABS PA,14-CENHA.V,1- (sheet 3 of 10) - Old Fort Tave…HABS PA,14-CENHA.V,1- (sheet 4 of 10) - Old Fort Tavern1933HABS PA,14-CENHA.V,1- (sheet 4 of 10) - Old Fort Tave…HABS PA,14-CENHA.V,1- (sheet 5 of 10) - Old Fort Tavern1933HABS PA,14-CENHA.V,1- (sheet 5 of 10) - Old Fort Tave…HABS PA,14-CENHA.V,1- (sheet 6 of 10) - Old Fort Tavern1933HABS PA,14-CENHA.V,1- (sheet 6 of 10) - Old Fort Tave…HABS PA,14-CENHA.V,1- (sheet 7 of 10) - Old Fort Tavern1933HABS PA,14-CENHA.V,1- (sheet 7 of 10) - Old Fort Tave…HABS PA,14-CENHA.V,1- (sheet 8 of 10) - Old Fort Tavern1933HABS PA,14-CENHA.V,1- (sheet 8 of 10) - Old Fort Tave…HABS PA,14-CENHA.V,1- (sheet 9 of 10) - Old Fort Tavern1933HABS PA,14-CENHA.V,1- (sheet 9 of 10) - Old Fort Tave…
1940s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today24 recent
Centre Hall, Pennsylvania2012Centre Hall, PennsylvaniaCentre Hall, Pennsylvania2012Centre Hall, PennsylvaniaCentre Hall, Pennsylvania2012Centre Hall, PennsylvaniaCentre Hall, Pennsylvania2012Centre Hall, PennsylvaniaCentre Hall, Pennsylvania2012Centre Hall, PennsylvaniaCentre Hall, Pennsylvania2012Centre Hall, PennsylvaniaCentre Hall, Pennsylvania2012Centre Hall, PennsylvaniaCentre Hall, Pennsylvania2012Centre Hall, PennsylvaniaCentre Hall, Pennsylvania2012Centre Hall, PennsylvaniaCentre Hall, Pennsylvania2012Centre Hall, PennsylvaniaCentre Hall, Pennsylvania2012Centre Hall, PennsylvaniaCentre Hall, Pennsylvania2012Centre Hall, PennsylvaniaCentre Hall, Pennsylvania2012Centre Hall, PennsylvaniaCentre Hall, Pennsylvania2012Centre Hall, PennsylvaniaCentre Hall, Pennsylvania2012Centre Hall, PennsylvaniaCentre Hall, Pennsylvania2012Centre Hall, PennsylvaniaCentre Hall, Pennsylvania2012Centre Hall, PennsylvaniaCentre County Grange Fair2012Centre County Grange FairCentre County farm on Earlystown Rd2006Centre County farm on Earlystown RdVIEW OF CONVENTIONAL BARN STRUCTURES ADJACENT TO CALVIN NEFF ROUND BARN. - Calvin Neff Round Barn, PA Route 45, Centre …2005VIEW OF CONVENTIONAL BARN STRUCTURES ADJACENT TO CALV…PERSPECTIVE VIEW. - Calvin Neff Round Barn, PA Route 452005PERSPECTIVE VIEW. - Calvin Neff Round Barn, PA Route …PERSPECTIVE VIEW. - Calvin Neff Round Barn, PA Route 452005PERSPECTIVE VIEW. - Calvin Neff Round Barn, PA Route …PERSPECTIVE VIEW OF CALVIN NEFF ROUND BARN, BUILT 1910. - Calvin Neff Round Barn, PA Route 452005PERSPECTIVE VIEW OF CALVIN NEFF ROUND BARN, BUILT 191…GENERAL VIEW OF CALVIN NEFF ROUND BARN AND ASSOCIATED STRUCTURES. - Calvin Neff Round Barn, PA Route 452005GENERAL VIEW OF CALVIN NEFF ROUND BARN AND ASSOCIATED…
The story so far

Centre Hall, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Centre Hall yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Centre Hall is a borough in Centre County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located in Penns Valley and is part of the State College, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2020 census, Centre Hall had a population of 1,268. Centre Hall was so named on account of its location near the geographical center of Penns Valley.

Centre Hall was established in 1847. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 1,265 in 2010, 1,268 in 2020.

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Centre Hall, 1847 to 1937

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1847
    FoundingCentre Hall is established
  3. 1847Post officeThe Center Hall post office opens
  4. 1874In the archiveAtlas of Centre County, Pennsylvania
  5. 20th century
  6. 1924On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1925Post officeThe Center Hall post office closes
  8. 1933In the archiveHABS PA,14-CENHA.V,1- (sheet 0 of 10) - Old Fort Tavern
  9. 1937Born hereCal Emery is born here
On the map

Centre Hall on the map, 1924 to 1998

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Centre Hall. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Centre Hall on the 1924 USGS mapCentre Hall on the 1966 USGS mapCentre Hall on the 1973 USGS mapCentre Hall on the 1998 USGS map1924Centre Hall sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Centre Hall.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

HABS PA,14-CENHA.V,1- (sheet 0 of 10) - Old Fort Tavern
Retake this viewHABS PA,14-CENHA.V,1- (sheet 0 of 10) - Old Fort Tavern, 1933

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Centre Hall’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Centre Hall, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,40018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,282

Between 350 and 1,282 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Centre Hall’s Wikipedia page.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Another post office, Center Hall, opened and closed inside today’s town.

1cemetery inside Centre Hall
Reformed and Lutheran

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Finish Centre Hall’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewHABS PA,14-CENHA.V,1- (sheet 0 of 10) -…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Centre Hall’s history

What year was Centre Hall founded?

In 1847, according to Wikidata. Centre Hall’s post office opened in 1847, and the census of 1880 counted 350 people here.

How does Centre Hall rank for history?

Centre Hall is more historic than 76% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

How old are the homes in Centre Hall?

45% of Centre Hall’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±20.3 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1952.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (36), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.