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1988 Map of State College

Name: 1988 Topographic Map of State College
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1989
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1989

About this map

Pennsylvania State University serves as a central anchor in this 1980s landscape, illustrating the late-twentieth-century expansion of State College. The map documents a complex ridge-and-valley topography defined by massive formations such as Nittany Mountain and Bald Eagle Mountain. These natural barriers historically dictated the growth of settlements like Bellefonte, the seat of the Centre County Courthouse, and industrial corridors along the Juniata River and Susquehanna River.

The survey highlights a transition in transportation, showing the prominence of U.S. Highway 322 alongside older rail infrastructure like the Bellefonte Historical Railroad and Conrail. Notable for genealogists and local historians are the numerous rural landmarks, including the Church Hill Church and various state forests like Rothrock State Forest, which preserve the wooded character of the gaps and ridges that have shaped Central Pennsylvania's development for centuries.