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Centre Hall
History of Centre and Clinton Counties, John B Linn, 1883, pages 408-409
"Centre Hall is built on the Janet Sharon survey patented to William Maclay, Nov. 13, 1787, and was originally the farm of John Lyon, ironmaster (son-in-law of Hon. William Maclay). John Lyon was born in Cumberland County (now Juniata) Aug. 11, 1782, and was a nephew of William Lyon, one of the early prothonotaries of Cumberland. He resided in his early youth with his relative, Lieut. Robert Lyon, at Northumberland, and afterwards at Carlisle and Harrisburg. He married, April 29, 1808, Jane, youngest daughter of Hon. William Maclay, and removed to Centre County in 1813, and in connection with Jacob Halderman and William Wallace, of Harrisburg, built Pennsylvania Furnace. In 1818 he acquired Colerain and Sligo, in connection with R. T. Stewart, and with him built Sligo rolling-mill in Pittsburgh in 1825. His first wife died in 1809, leaving one son, William M. Lyon, Esq., of Pittsburgh and in 1820 he married Margaret Stewart, by whom he had a large family,-Patton Lyon, J. P. Lyon, James B., S. S. Lyon (of Bellefonte), Mrs. J. R. Lowrey, George W. Lyon, Mrs. Bucher Ayres, Mrs. Rev. Robert Hamill, Mrs. George B. Porter, and Thomas Lyon.
William Lyon sold the Janet Sharon and land adjoining Feb. 1, 1864, to Christian Hoffer, of Lebanon County. An old log school-house marked the site of the present hotel, when Mr. Hoffer came in, where Dennis Murray, Josiah Alexander, and others taught; Peter Zeigler turned it into a dwelling, having his shop on the other side of the road. Zeigler had his feet badly frozen coming from the Old Fort, and died from the effects of it. Hoffer erected the first building of any size, which is now used as a blacksmith-shop.
In 1847, Henry Whitmer, who had moved from Lebanon County to Aaronsburg in 1828, removed to the site of Centre Hall, where he had, in 1846, built the large building now occupied as a hotel and store. Mr. Whitmer lived at this place, naming it "Centre Hall," as being midway between the eastern and western end of Penn's valley. Mr. Whitmer died July 3,1880, at the age of eighty-two years. Aug. 24, 1880, an application was made for a borough charter, but it was remonstrated against, and the project defeated. Main, Hoffer, and Whitmer are the names of the streets running north and south, Locust, Church, and Sarah of those running east and west. It is one of the prettiest villages in Centre County, the private dwelling-houses being tastefully built and very attractive in appearance."
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