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Bellefonte Gazette March 12 2005, page 12
The Dreamer (Part One)... It's All In The Name
By Richard Knupp SR
"The town of Bellefonte currently is somewhat famous for its seven governors and the part it played in the underground railroad. Is this all there is about Bellefonte that there is to be proud of? Why did William Lamb build Lamb's Crossing where he did? Why was Bellefonte built where it is? Why was such a small rural area able to have seven governors come from the area? From 1795 until 1860 the percentage of black people living in Bellefonte was between ten and twenty-five percent of the population. Why? After the Civil War most all blacks left the area. Why? Who was Central Pennsylvania's largest employer from 1795 until 1860? Why does Bellefonte have so many beautiful buildings? The answer for all the questions is simple if you understand how "IT'S ALL IN THE NAME".
Sometime in the latter part of the nineteenth century; a great granddaughter of Ann Dunlop Harris, Mary Orbison of Huntingdon, published a pamphlet "The Harris and Dunlop Families" which she attributed the naming of Bellefonte to Prince Talleyrand. Even though none of the other Ann Dunlop Harris descendant's ever believed the story; it became factual. To you this may seem trivial but the truth of the matter is that the most important historical significance of the name Bellefonte was lost.
The people who know the truth about the naming of Bellefonte will also know much about the following:
1.) Important historical knowledge of the late eighteenth century; First of all, it was the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. The most important aspect of the Industrial Revolution was iron. Those who controlled the manufacturing of iron controlled the Industrial Revolution as well as the world. The only reason that Bellefonte exists is because of iron.
2.) To understand Bellefonte and the naming of Bellefonte you should first study in great detail the history of the Dunlop and Harris families and their extended family. Mandatory reading on this subject and in the proper order of study should be: Pages 177-197 of COMMERATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA and the entire section on Centre County in LINN'S HISTORY.
It is easier to take my word for it since it is difficult reading and has taken me four years of reading and rereading these sections to understand what is in them.
Around 1770 two events occurred that changed history like nothing before This era was the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. During this same period the Pennsylvania Legislation voted to eventually abolish slavery.
The driving force behind the Industrial Revolution was iron. The production of iron controlled the destiny of the world. The world's most powerful people were its ironmasters. The manufacturing of iron during this period produced great wealth. The Ironmasters and their workers were treated like royalty.
Around 1770 a man named Andrew Boggs became the first settler. In 1782 a man named William Lamb established a grist mill which is past history and a stone house that still stands. In 1788 Lamb sold Lamb's Crossing to Thomas Gordon and moved back to Mifflintown. In 1792 Miles, Miles & Patton built the first Iron Furnace in what is now Centre County.
There was a Dreamer who was a successful ironmaster in Franklin County. The Dreamer had two uncles, Samuel Miles and John Patton who knew everything about the finding of plentiful and purer iron ore in Central Pennsylvania. The Dreamer had a brother-in-law whose neighbor was William Lamb who knew everything about the area now known as Bellefonte. The brother-in-law had also signed the bill in the state legislature calling for the eventual abolishment of slavery.
The Dreamer sowed the seeds and nurtured the development of his iron business which eventually made Bellefonte second only to Philadelphia in wealth in Pennsylvania. The Belle Font Forge brought many prominent lawyers and business people to the area. These people were attracted by the prospects of great wealth. By today's standards the Dreamer had even greater accomplishment than the creation of wealth.
The Dreamer took it upon himself to establish a town where all men were free. They called that town Bellefonte. The Dreamer's uncle, Samuel Miles, was amazed at how much wood these freemen could cut. The Dreamer owned 40,000 acres of mountain land in northern Centre County and built camps for the blacks to harvest the hardwood to fire his four iron furnaces. The Dreamer owned several thousand acres in Union Township where the blacks operated a large lumber mill. The Dreamer owned the Gatesburg ore bank and thousands of acres around it. The Dreamer also had numerous other ore mines throughout the area. Most importantly much of his labor force were freed slaves.
If you develop Bellefonte as a town that contributed much to the Industrial Revolution and the freeing of slaves you will open the door of opportunity way beyond your wildest dreams. Just like the thousands of people each day that visit Ellis Island to see where our immigrant ancestors entered this country, you will also find many people wanting to visit the place where their ancestors first walked through the doorof freedom. Two hundred years ago Bellefonte was a place of opportunity for the blacks so let us now allow Bellefonte to receive the just rewards for providing their freedom."
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