Cruising down Interstate 99, driving along U.S. Route 322, or even meandering through forgotten villages along the backroads of Pennsylvania, it’s easy to lose sight of how difficult travel used to be. Making the trip to State College from many metropolitan areas has shrunk from a full day’s trip to a few hours on expressways at seventy miles per hour, opening the doors for Penn State University to new population centers.
In the recent past, however, the university’s location that Edwin Sparks noted was “equally inaccessible from all parts of the state” served as a major challenge to the potential growth of the institution. Increasing the accessibility of Penn State became a focus for many an early university president, and the obvious solution was also key to hundreds of coal towns and iron plantations in the nineteenth century: the railroad.
Until George Atherton’s tenure as president of the university, Penn State remained without a railroad station within several miles of campus. Traveling students needed to take trains to the closest towns with a station, then take buggies several miles to campus. Originally, students had to travel to Tyrone or Bellefonte, but later they could get within a few miles of campus via Struble or Lemont. This was initially intentional by the university, to keep students from the distractions and vices of the world. Unfortunately, this was not a sustainable practice for the growth of an institution.
In 1892, the Bellefonte Central Railroad made its way into State College, connecting the university and the burgeoning community to the outside world. A sixty-seven-by-thirty-foot Queen Anne station was erected on the site of the current Hammond Building along College Avenue. The trip between Bellefonte and State College was scheduled to take fifty minutes with all stops for the roughly twenty-mile run. The meandering railway line followed the creeks and valleys from campus through the Scotia Barrens and Buffalo Valley, on to Waddle and Fillmore, before reaching Bellefonte.
In the early days of the run from Bellefonte to State College, one conductor made such an impact on students that he became a campus legend: G. Ross Parker. Parker was such a mainstay among the traveling students that trains he conducted began to be referred to as “Parker’s Boat.” How the train received its moniker of “boat” is not certain, though some claim it earned the title when it once was caught in a flash flood along the route.
What is agreed upon is the train’s incredibly slow pace. Over time, freight cars would be added to the passenger service, slowing the pace to no more than a walk. It was not uncommon for passengers to get off the moving train to pick flowers and berries and have the engineer slow down at the top of the grades so they could climb back aboard! Another common occurrence was the proclivity for livestock to force the train to halt. Fred Pattee fondly recalled that Parker, when asked by some undergrads why he was stopping the train, said, “Calves on the track. Got to shoo ’em off.” A half hour later when asked why the train stopped again, Parker remarked, “Those same calves got back on the tracks again!” Although the train was infamous for its sluggish pace, the leisurely train ride earned notoriety for its scenic vistas, complete with rolling meadows, babbling brooks, and abundant wildlife.
With the advent of the automobile, the reliance on passenger rail service diminished despite small resurgences during the world wars. In 1930, a freight depot was added nearby to facilitate the increased freight traffic, which had steadily replaced passenger-only trips. By 1946, passenger service was reserved for special occasions. One final highlight of the State College line occurred in 1953 when U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower visited campus during the leadership of his brother, University President Milton Eisenhower. Ike would visit several more times to give commencement addresses, fly fish nearby, and receive Penn State’s first honorary doctor of law degree during his brother’s tenure.
By the 1970s, the tracks had been largely abandoned. Following damage from flooding and effects of Hurricane Agnes, the decision was made to remove the tracks for good. Today, the train station in State College exists only in pictures and memories.
Although it’s easier and certainly faster to reach campus today, it’s fun to romanticize a bygone era of Centre County history. T&G
Local Historia is a passion for local history, community, and preservation. Its mission is to connect you with local history through engaging content and walking tours. Local Historia is owned by public historians Matt Maris and Dustin Elder, who co-author this column. For more, visit localhistoria.com.
Bezilla, M. (1985). Penn State: An illustrated history. Pennsylvania State University Press.
Penn State Presidential Visits: Penn State University. presidential visits | Penn State University. (n.d.). https://www.psu.edu/news/university-park/story/penn-state-presidential-visits
The road formally opened. (1892, April 8). Democratic Watchman, p. 8.
Centre Daily Times. (October 27, 1979). Parker’s Boat. Newspapers.com. Retrieved November 1, 2024, from https://www.newspapers.com/article/centre-daily-times-parkers-boat/158563261/
Centre Daily Times. (November 9, 1949). Parker’s Boat 2. Newspapers.com. Retrieved November 1, 2024, from https://www.newspapers.com/article/centre-daily-times-parkers-boat-2/158563383/
