Centre County was created in February 1800 from parts of Huntingdon, Lycoming, Mifflin and Northumberland counties to create a true geographical ‘center’ of the state. Early settlements included those at Bald Eagle’s Nest andPenns Valley around 1770, but real growth began around 1795 when iron orewas discovered and the town of Bellefonte, ‘beautiful spring’ in French, was formed. Bellefonte subsequently became the county seat as well as the locus of iron making during the 18th and 19th centuries. The mining of iron, bituminous coal and the lumber industry helped spur the construction of railroads, and such industries flourished. Agriculture also flourished, and in 1855 the Farmers’ High School of Pennsylvania (which despite the name was a degree granting institution), was chartered. It became a land grant college in 1863. In 1874, the school was renamed The Pennsylvania State College. Before and during the Civil War, the towns of Bellefonte and Half Moon were important stops along the Underground Railroad. Today, Centre County acknowledges its rich history and agricultural wealth with events like the annual Memorial Day Commemoration in Boalsburg, where the Memorial Day tradition of decorating soldiers’ graves is said to have begun, and in the Centre County Grange Fair, the largest grange fair in the country.