Special Collections
104 Paterno Library
814.865.7931
UL-spcolref@lists.psu.edu
Jeanette Eisenhart
Title: Public Services Specialist
Special Collections
104 Paterno Library
814.865.7931
UL-spcolref@lists.psu.edu
Special Collections is located on the first floor of Paterno Library on the University Park Campus. Our mission is to provide primary source materials for researchers from Penn State and around the world.
Richard Pearce-Moses defines a primary source as: "Material that contains firsthand accounts of events and that was created contemporaneous to those events or later recalled by an eyewitness." Examples include diaries, scrapbooks, oral histories, author's manuscripts, and meeting minutes.
Here, researchers can find more than 200,000 printed volumes, more than 25 million archival records and manuscripts, and another million photographs, maps, prints, and audio-visual items.
If you have not used a special collections library before, please note that we are open for fewer hours than some other parts of the library, and that you must use our materials in our reading room. For more information, please visit our brief online tutorial and tour.
Additional information on searching Special Collections can be found here.
In Special Collections you can find information on the history of State College:
Borough of State College: [manuscript] : its origins and growth. 1941.
State College, Borough of. Incorporation Papers, 1885-1892
State College Historic Resources Commission Records
State College Oral History Transcripts
You can also find collections related to the governance of the town, such as:
State College, Borough of. Council Minutes
We also document the history of local organizations, including but not limited to:
State College Choral Society Records, 1940-2005
State College Community Theatre Records, 1948-1983
State College Literary Club Records, 1900-1985
State College Woman’s Club Records, 1894-1994
Special Collections houses many types of resources related to Centre County history. A sample is listed below.
Personal Papers:
Paul Dubbs Papers
The papers of this Centre County journalist include his articles and publications as well as reference materials and correspondence related to the history of Centre County.
Henry W. Popp Collection about Centre County, 1850-1950 (bulk 1850-1900)
Popp (1892-1989) was a Penn State alumnus and botany professor, and collected historical documents as an avocation.This collection contains a variety of maps, daybooks, order books, sheet music, ledger books, photographs, stamp and postal account books, sales ledgers, handwritten dictionaries, newspapers, and maps reflecting life in Centre County, Pennsylvania, during the nineteenth-century.
Family Papers:
Hale and Mull Families Papers, 1762-1943
This collection of 17 reels of microfilm documents the personal and business affairs of the interrelated Hale and Mull families of Philipsburg (Centre County), Pennsylvania. Original materials include correspondence, financial, legal and military papers, diaries, journals, photographs, and daguerreotypes.
Government and legal records:
Centre County (Pa.) Court Documents, 1792-1869 (bulk 1860-1869)
This collection contains a variety of legal papers, possibly part of a lawyer's files, in Centre County, Pa., court cases.
Centre County, Pennsylvania, Execution Dockets, January 1894-January 1897
This collection contains three cloth-bound handwritten volumes detailing the execution of judgments levied against real estate and personal property in civil cases in Centre County, Pennsylvania, during the term of county sheriff John P. Condo.
Centre County records and collected reference publications from Pennsylvania State University, Institute of Local Government, 1875-1983 (bulk 1937-1983)
This collection consists primarily of serial publications, planning documents, and photocopies of property tax rolls.
Centre County Land Patents, Indentures, Property Deeds
These documents are cataloged individually, but can generally be found with a simple keyword search for "centre county land" in LionSearch.
Other collections of interest:
Centre County Business and Industrial Collection, 1904-1993
This collection documents businesses and industries in the Centre County, Pennsylvania, region through brochures, catalogs, clippings, directories, guides, programs, and other ephemera.
Howard Lawrence collection of Centre County maps and drawings of historic buildings, 1789-1978
This collection contains drawings by Professor Lawrence's first year architecture students of historic buildings in Centre County, Pennsylvania, accompanied by historical maps of townships in the county.
Digital Collections:
*Special Collections collects histories and atlases of nearly every county in Pennsylvania, covering a wide range of dates. Download a PDF list here.
*We also collect historical maps from all over Pennsylvania. These are all cataloged individually and can be found through an advanced search of the CAT, within the location "Historical Coll/Labor Archives, 1st FL Paterno - Cartographic".
*We house the records of numerous statewide organizations, including:
Pennsylvania Art Education Association Records, 1925-1993
The collection contains the constitution and bylaws, meeting minutes, financial records, conference programs, correspondence, newsletters, art education papers and special programs, art education books, photographs and slides of conferences and members, and committee records.
Pennsylvania State Association for Health, Physical Education and Recreation Records, 1914-1999
Includes correspondence, reports, brochures, convention records, Executive Committee meetings, Representative Assemblies, President and Vice-President's files, and Association directories.
*An example of our materials on family/rural life in Pennsylvania:
Perry Family Diaries
Thirteen handwritten daily diaries, twelve describing pioneer life in northwest Pennsylvania, 1867-1876.
Digital Collections:
Pennsylvania Agricultural Cooperative Extension Records, 1912-1988
The bulk of this collection contains the county extension agents' narrative and statistical annual reports of their activities, 1912-1988.
Pennsylvania Bridges Collection, 1884-1915
The collection contains photographs of railroad bridges in Pennsylvania, mostly in the Pittsburgh area, 1891-1915; photographs of technical drawings produced by the Pennsylvania State College, Civil Engineering Dept. depicting structural details and complete designs of modern railroad bridges, 1903-1904; and lantern slides of railroad bridges, 1884-ca. 1904.
Juniata County History Project, 1850-2009
Featuring several thousand images, this collection encompasses the range of lifetime experiences in Juniata County over the course of the 20th century.
Collections detailing the lives and work of notable Pennsylvanians include but are not limited to:
James A. Beaver Papers, 1855-1914 (bulk 1881-1896)
Beaver (1837-1914) was a Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, lawyer, judge, and businessman, Civil War brevet brigadier general, trustee and board president of the Pennsylvania State College, and governor of Pennsylvania from 1886 to 1891.This collection includes correspondence, pamphlets, circulars, and photographs covering Beaver's political, military, business and civic endeavors.
Robert P. Casey Papers, 1948-2000 (bulk 1986-1994)
Casey (1932-2000) served as governor of Pennsylvania from 1987-2000. This collection
documents his administration; materials include issue papers, daily schedules, budget proposals, speeches, artifacts, photographs, audio-visual materials, newspaper clippings and press releases.
Robert C. Jubelirer Papers, 1939-2006 (bulk 1972-2006)
Jubelirer (1937- ) of Altoona, Pennsylvania, served as a lawyer, Pennsylvania state senator (1975-2006), state senate president pro tempore (1985-1992; 1995-2006), and lieutenant governor (2001-2003). This collection consists primarily of records documenting his political career.
John O'Hara Papers
John O'Hara was an American novelist and short story writer originally from Pottsville, Pa. This collection contains correspondence, manuscripts, newspaper materials, scrapbooks, awards, posters, lobby cards, press books, a record album, and photographs.
William Warren Scranton Papers, 1933-2005
Scranton was Governor of Pennsylvania from 1963 to 1967; candidate for Republican Party nomination for President of U.S., 1964; and diplomat and policy advisor.The collection consists of correspondence, reports, tape recordings, and typescripts of speeches, press releases, drafts and final copies of publications, photographs, movie film, newspaper clippings, and scrapbooks.
Henry Shoemaker Papers, 1873-1952
Shoemaker was an author, banker, newspaper columnist, newspaper publisher, diplomat, archivist, civil servant, and collector of Pennsylvania folklore. This collection consist of correspondence, ephemera, publications, photographs, and scrapbooks documenting his life, work, and relationships with family, friends and colleagues.
Fred Waring's America
Fred Waring, “the man who taught America how to sing,” was a Distinguished Alumnus and Trustee of Penn State University. The archive serves as a rich source of primary source material on 20th century American popular culture.
This research guide provides only a sample of the materials we have for researchers interested in the history of State College, Centre County, and Pennsylvania. Search our collections, and/or contact us for more information.
See also our separate research guide for Pennsylvania business history.
Our research guide for military history in Special Collections includes documentation of Pennsylvania regiments.
A separate research guide on Pennsylvania German (Amish) materials is forthcoming.
