Centre Furnace Mansion House
Why it's listed
Centre Furnace Mansion is a five-bay, 2½-story brick house with a Georgian plan, a center hall and four-over-four windows, set on a hillside at the former Centre Furnace iron plantation in State College. The main block is dated to about 1830 and the kitchen wing to about 1835. Victorian alterations of about 1865 to 1870 added twin front gables, an arcaded Italianate porch and a bracketed cornice, while retaining original wooden mantels in the eastern parlors and the kitchen wing's doors and staircase. The house is linked to the furnace, which began operating by May 1792 and was among the first in the area that became Centre County. Its 1847 stone stack survives as one of only two in the county in reasonable condition. The residence is also associated with ironmasters Samuel Miles, John Patton, General James Irvin and Moses Thompson, and with the 1855 meeting that helped establish the Farmers' High School.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the complex is tied to the early iron industry of Centre County, beginning with the Centre Furnace founded in the 1790s by Samuel Miles and John Patton. The mansion is presented as a local example of ironmasters' residences, with Georgian form and later Victorian alterations. The stack is described as one of only two surviving 1847 stacks in the county in reasonable preservation.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 79002193, listed December 27, 1979. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 1001 E. College Ave., State College |
|---|---|
| County | Centre County |
| Listed | December 27, 1979 |
| Reference number | 79002193 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architectural style | Georgian; later Victorian alterations |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Industry, Commerce |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Good condition as recorded in the form; the furnace stack was restored in 1963 and the mansion was being prepared for apartment rental and Historical Society use. |
| Acreage | 3.5 |
| Coordinates | 40.80652, -77.84225 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
National Register listing is honorary for a privately owned home: it does not by itself restrict what an owner may do with their own money, and it does not require public access. Restrictions come from local landmark or historic-district ordinances, which are separate (how they differ).
Owner-occupied houses are not eligible for the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit, which applies to income-producing buildings, but many states offer credits for homeowners. Listing also opens the door to preservation easements and to buying a plaque. Start with what listing means for homeowners, renovating a listed house and selling one.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 79002193.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5062264
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.