Philipsburg Historical Foundation

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Philipsburg Historical Foundation

The Philipsburg Historical Foundation is a 501(c)3 non-profit established to preserve and protect Philipsburg's Heritage.

06/05/2026

During 8th grade history days, we met at the “Mud Church” to discuss the early history of Philipsburg. I talked about the history of the church, and pointed out things in the church that were original, including the whale oil lamps. The students were not aware that spermaceti oils and candle materials lit America and greased their machines until petroleum oil was discovered in 1859 in Titusville. Prior to that time, since the 1650’s hunting whales for that oil. Large Bow and S***m whales could produce 100 barrels of oil and during whaling’s biggest time, 1820-1860, 700 vessels operated to provide the needed oil produced by the 390,000 whales harvested in this time. The whales also provided Bayleen, a product used in corsets and buggy whips. The oil was produced by “trying out”, boiling the blubber and collecting the oil. This type of oil was mostly used for lubrication. The spermaceti oil came from the skull cavity of the whale and was highly prized as a light source as it produced a very bright light. Sailors also produced scrimshaw on whale bones and teeth. During this time, whaling made up a significant part of our GDP. I remember reading “Moby Dick” as a kid. Whaling still goes on to a limited degree among Native Americans but is otherwise banned in the US.

05/31/2026

Hardman Philips was not the founder of Philipsburg, but he surely was its Father. The town was founded by his older brother Henry in 1797. The English gentleman lasted but a couple years in the hard life of settlers, as did other Philips brothers who came and went. Hardman was the last brother in 1810 and we always assumed that he came to take over the family estate. Actually, only partly true. Turns out, Hardman had some issues in England involving a duel over a woman. He was actually under a death sentence and was fleeing to avoid hanging.....and also to take over the family business. You can see Hardman Philips dueling pitols on display at the Museum.

05/23/2026

It's been 15 years since the Veteran's Monument was installed. Plans for it started 10 years before that when the local Veteran's organizations, Historical Foundation, and interested citizens started planning for it. Initially it started as a small chevron shaped design to be place in S. Park. That ran into opposition and other sites were sought and debated. The design changed into something more like the Vietnam Memorial in DC, which would include the names of soldiers killed in action. Finally, the current site was decided on and planning and fund raising began. To help fund the project the monument was clad in bricks that could be inscribed with any veteran's name. The thing was finally erected in 2011. Over this next week visit the memorial and remember that every name inscribed represents the cost of our freedom.

05/15/2026

Philipsburg Cemetery established 1874 is the final resting place of over 11,000 of our forbearers. Among these many thousands are 2,200 of our hero veterans. The Cemetery has been struggling for years due to declining use. The cremation rate now stretches to 70% with less than 30% of cremains ending up in a cemetery. This has created major strain on cemeteries as is shown by the fact that there are more than 2,000 abandoned cemeteries in PA. The cemetery continues to work on a possible borough take over and developing a dedicated volunteer corps. Right now, w**d eater operators are needed to prepare the cemetery for Memorial Day, May 25. If you are interested in this please contact Paul Springer at [email protected] or call 814-577-1994.

05/10/2026

This week is Philipsburg History Week. Students from the 8th grade at PO Middle School will visit the Mud Churrch, Simler House, our museum and other noteworthy sites. It is one of the most enjoyable responsibilities of the PHF. Philipsburg has a rich past full of interesting characters, innovative ideas, and I believe, a bright future. We have much to celebrate and remember on our 229th year of the country's 250th year.

05/01/2026

I ran across a very interesting story about another of Philipsburg's early businesses, Hoover, Hughes & Co. a lumbering and construction company were the contractors and builders of the first PRR train station in Philadelphia in 1876 for the Centennial, and according to lore put it up in 60 days! They also built the Mountain House at Cresson Springs in 1881, a favorite spot for PRR executives. They were involved in many large projects in Reading, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Conshohocken. The PRR station was replaced in 1881 and Mountain House at Cresson burned down in 1916 and was never rebuilt. In 1895 the company owned 4 sawmills and a planing mill. They employed 150 men. They processed 1,000,000 feet of lumber monthly. Wow.....More great things from the Burg.

04/24/2026

Last week was a road trip to Florida. I’m always interested in historical sites and museums while traveling. When we travel to Florida, we always stop in Statesville, NC, halfway to our destination. On this trip we discovered a new museum there called the Statesville Historical Collection. The collection, located in an old 5 &10, is the work of Steve Hill, a lifetime collector of memorabilia and Stamey Holland a local realtor. It is a mesmerizing place, the central core of which is many, many old photographs, though there are displays representing local sports heroes, industries, a wall of old postcards, a giant case of model trains, movie posters from an old historic movie theatre, a small performance venue, and to much more to even describe! Our Historical Foundation is now considering the creation of a new Mid-Century (1950-1980’s) Collection and what I saw here has filled me with enthusiasm and the desire to see something like that created here. The collection is open 5 days a week, has no cost for admission and is a very busy place. They even have a section of old toys and games that kids can handle & play with. Would such a collection interest you? For more information see The Statesville Historical Collection page.

04/18/2026

In the "Illustrated Souvenir History of Philipsburg, Pennsylvania" published in 1909, it was noted that the Town Hall was erected in 1887 at a cost of $10,000. It also noted that the original site selected was 500'-600' North of its present location. Hoover, Hughes and Co. had already placed a foundation and put up the outer walls of the first floor. Many objections were made about the site, and it was decided to move the structure to its present location. The original work was torn down. In later years, a bandstand in "North Park". It was later moved to 15th street. The original building housed both fire companies, Reliance & Hope until Reliance moved to 2nd Street, with Hope remaining until 1960. The 1st floor was then occupied by the police department and the public library. Initially, the 2nd floor was used by borough council as a meeting room. The 2nd floor became an office for District Magistrate (Robert Shoff) as well as the Red Cross. Today we are unsure what to do with the historic structure. What do you think.

04/11/2026

In January of 1927 Dr. Cloyd Harkins, dentist, became interested in providing prosthetics for cleft palate patients. He had a friend in Altoona who had an employee who had suffered with this all of her life. He made impressions of her mouth and studied them and made the first appliance for cleft palate patients. In January of 1943, the Dept. of Health sponsored a course on the construction of appliances and surgical procedures at PSU. It was headed by Dr. Harkins and was the first course of any kind in the US. A clinic was set up at Philipsburg Hospital in 1945. He promoted a holistic approach involving surgery, prosthetics, and emotional support. Dr. Cloyd traveled extensively throughout the world teaching and gathering information. His son William and grandson Bill continued his work. His office was in Osceola where I spent a lot of time as a teenager. There were always cars from all over the US on the streets there. Another example of the ingenuity and forward thinking that characterizes our area.

03/27/2026

In researching electric history, I ran across pictures of the Trolley. The trolley garage was located next to the powerhouse, corner of Pine & RT. 322. The story begins on Christmas Eve, 1903, the first day of operation for the Centre and Clearfield Street Railway Co. (Est. 1901) when 8,000 passengers rode. The amazing thing is that they didn't start carrying passengers until 5:30 that evening. Initially the company had 5 cars, and the route from the burg went through Hawk Run, Morrisdale, Allport, Munson and Winburne. In the 1st full year of operation, they carried over 1,000,000 passengers!!! After 1920, ridership began to decline because of automobiles. On August 11, 1927, the Trolley's run came to an end. A local merchant penned a great poem of regret.

"I look in vain for the Crowds that came,
From somewhere down the line,
With baskets and babies on their arms,
They'd get off at Spruce and Pine.
And they filled our stores with shoppers,
Oh that was a prosperous time!
But my hometown is now on the blink,
Since they junked the trolley line"

Address

203 N Front Street
Philipsburg, PA
16866

Website

http://www.phf1797.com/

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