Talleyrand Park. Photo by Diane McCormick.
“Luxembourg? No, it’s Bellefonte.”
Sure, it’s boosterish, but the framed 1954 Pittsburgh Press article inviting readers to replace the European vacay with a trip to Bellefonte, Pa., isn’t entirely off brand. Today’s Bellefonte still slows down time—a haven of calm in an Old World package of astounding architecture and roller-coaster streets.
Add friendly people, hip nightspots, historic lodgings, a picturesque park, and a rich vein of Pennsylvania and African American history, only 10 miles from Penn State but a world away. For a choice in secluded getaways, Bellefonte checks the boxes.
Well Preserved
Bellefonte’s history is steeped in the region’s iron ore, first mined in the 18th century and, by the 19th century, supplying half of the iron demanded by a booming U.S.
For architecture lovers, Bellefonte is considered one of the nation’s best-preserved towns. As soon as I arrived, I meandered the steep streets in a state of wonder.
Gingerbread adornments. Ferns on verandas. Stately stone mansions. Behind every bit of Georgian grandeur and Victorian flourishes are stories of grit and heartbreak, from the ironmasters, bankers, industrialists and entrepreneurs who built Bellefonte’s homes and institutions.
I stayed in a miracle of preservation and contemporary reuse. Gamble Mill Inn dates to 1894, replacing a burned-down flour mill that had stood on Spring Creek since 1786.
In 1975, a 22-year-old shop teacher launched a mill restoration that won a reprieve from the wrecking ball. Today’s chapter dates to 2021, when brothers Chris and Jon Virgilio restored the mill, with its signature gabled roof, into a self-operating inn housing 16 vintage-contemporary suites, plus cocktail bar, restaurant, speakeasy event space and boutique.
At the inn’s Republic cocktail bar, it’s drinks only—and what drinks! My meticulous, gin-based Ann Marie fizzed and refreshed. Cody Jones, co-owner with his wife Megan Marcaurelle-Jones, told me they retained the imposing brick pillars, once part of a grain elevator, for ambience, and they are now dotted with pins that people have added in the last four years.
The inn’s Creekside Restaurant offers intimate dining inside and out. I ate alfresco on a pleasant mountain evening, enjoying the highly recommended, sweet-tangy Korean chicken.
If I hadn’t promised my editor a story on Bellefonte, I could have stayed at the Gamble Mill Inn without venturing out.
But I did, and happily so. The Historic Bellefonte Train Station is a good place to start. Learn about local attractions or board a ride from the Bellefonte Historic Railroad to explore fall foliage, play bingo, or wind through local farmlands and forests.
Surrounding the station, the time-capsule Talleyrand Park hugs the willow-lined creek and waterfall dam. I expected Harold Hill to pop into the gazebo, leading his 76-trombone “Music Man” band.
Up the hill—seriously, bring your walking shoes—I found the shops, pubs, restaurants and museums of downtown Bellefonte.
Twin establishments, Governors’ Pub and Talleyrand Tavern, honor the seven state governors of the 18th and 19th century with Bellefonte ties. Their presence is everywhere. Five were Pennsylvania govs, including Bellefonte native Andrew Curtin, who left his mark as a founder of the Gettysburg National Cemetery and in Harrisburg’s Camp Curtin, the sprawling staging ground for Civil War troops.
Bellefonte’s lively shops include the Print Factory, a small but mighty indie bookstore with an antiracist, feminist and queer-inclusive mission. The Great Mish Mosh is packed with dazzling antique furniture and oddities, including a jukebox and a sepia photo of a winsome Victorian belle labeled, “Antique Gilded Frame & Woman of Your Freaking Dreams!”
The welcoming Helen Foxx & Co. boutique effortlessly blends fun fashion and jewelry. On the Bellefonte Square, the sprawling FaithCentre thrift store can keep thrifters on the hunt for days, and sales—my flowy Maggy London dress is killer—support FaithCentre’s food bank, emergency aid and pet food pantry.
Bellefonte has leveraged its industrial past into today’s industrial chic. The circa 1899- Match Factory complex—hey, all those tiki-bar matchbooks had to come from somewhere—is home to Big Spring Spirits, Pennsylvania’s first LEED-certified distillery.
In an eclectic tasting room and patio overlooking Talleyrand Park, servers are happy to share the details of the Black Raspberry Flip, made with Talleyrand cream bourbon, or the Centrepolitan, Centre County’s version of a cosmopolitan made with Big Spring vodka and cranberry shrub from the local Tait Farm.
For shabby chic, I delighted in the seashore vibe of My Café Buzz, a coffee-gift-repurposed décor shop. Their banner proclaimed “Famous Cinnamon Buns.” Could they stand up to the even-famouser Ye Olde College Diner grilled stickies from State College? Yes, they did—doughy twists topped with cream cheese icing and bottomed with cinnamon goo worth licking off the wrapper.
While we’re at My Café Buzz, where I encountered the world’s largest German shepherd, let me mention Bellefonte’s dog friendliness. They are everywhere—pacing the serene waterfront walk, panting on pub decks, going into stores. One brave soul took her collie pup into The Great Mish Mosh, undaunted by the “you break it, you bought it” rule of antique shops.
Culture & Events
Bellefonte’s artistic institutions showcase a cherished history and culture.
The Centre County Library and Historical Museum displays artifacts from Bellefonte’s past, including a dress reportedly worn to an Abraham Lincoln inaugural ball and a model of the monumental statues sculpted by Bellefonte native George Grey Barnard for the Pennsylvania Capitol.
In the heart of downtown, the delightful Bellefonte Art Museum houses collaborative exhibits, works by local artists, the children’s Makery at the Museum art studio, and a poetry alcove where you can write a haiku that will be dispensed from a vending machine.
Climb to the museum’s third floor and enter one of Bellefonte’s most consequential historical eras. Bellefonte served as an Underground Railroad stop, and here in a historic mansion owned by a Quaker family before the Civil War, the Art Association has created a permanent exhibit on that era, highlighted by Lino Toyos’ moving installation depicting the men, women and children who could have sheltered there.
This year’s fall events in Bellefonte include Talleyrand Fall Fest and annual Halloween parade, Oct. 25. The Oct. 18 “Let the Spirits Move You” Ghost Tour Tasting Trail promises “a haunting good time” of tastes and tales, told in different venues that include the Great Mish Mosh, once a morgue whose “guests,” paranormal investigators say, are still hanging around.
If you’re looking toward the holidays, get your Dickens on with Bellefonte Victorian Christmas, with music crawl, outdoor winter market, indoor arts and crafts, holiday-themed train rides, and of course, carriage rides, Dec. 12 to 14.
Bellefonte takes visitors to another era, and it does have its sleepy side, but a wave of energy and youthfulness courses through the businesses and trendy spots. History propels the town forward. Bellefonte embraces a proud past, a bright future, and above all, a reverent stewardship for its breathtaking beauty.
For more information on Bellefonte, including a roundup of events, establishments, train rides, tours, culture and more, visit www.bellefonte.com.
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