Curwensville Area Historical Society

Since 1989, the Curwensville Area Historical Society has been located at 846 State Street in Curwensville Borough. Our building, named the Korb House, was donated by the family of Mildred Korb Houser, in the fall of 1989. Over the years, many projects and improvements were made to the building in order to better facilitate visitors and house our collections. Unfortunately, as time went on, the building, built in 1878, needed more serious repairs. The site also showed limitations as to its ability to accommodate larger groups and events. The lack of sufficient parking and accessible restrooms, among other things, left the society wanting to be able to better serve our visitors. 

About two years ago, the Building and Grounds Committee met and began to come up with ideas to renovate the Korb House. Unfortunately, after Engineering assessments and estimates from contractors, it was obvious that renovating the building for our needs was financially unattainable. The committee began looking for alternative sites for our Society to potentially purchase. A handful of buildings were looked at, but none were feasible to purchase, or didn’t fit our needs. 

A few months ago, the Building and Grounds Committee decided to reach out to Kevin Beardsley to see if he would have any interest in selling the Beardsley Funeral Home of Curwensville, located at 815 State Street. The Committee met with the Beardsleys and visited the building. After much discussion, Kevin and Ann Beardsley decided that they wanted to donate the building to our Historical Society.  Members of our Society were completely blown away by the offer and excitedly accepted their proposal. The property was closed on today (5/20/25). Members of our society will soon begin the process of moving our collection and occupying the building.

Not only is this building a perfect fit for what our Society needs, it also has a great history behind it. The Patton Family was one of the two most prominent families in Curwensville that undoubtedly shaped the town into what it became. Honorable John Patton was born in 1823 in Tioga County and came with his family to Curwensville in 1828. John came from a long line of Pattons whose prominent statuses are still visible today. His grandfather, a revolutionary war veteran and business man, is whom Patton Township in Centre County is named after. John and his father had business dealings in many different places and were the driving force behind the development and incorporation of the town of Patton in Cambria County. They built up the Patton Clay Manufacturing Company which at the time became one of the largest clay manufacturing companies in the world. In addition to local business dealings that included lumbering, mercantile, and banking, John Patton also had his hand in politics. He spent time as a delegate for the Whig and Republican National Convention. He also served a total of 4 years in Congress. John had children heavily involved in politics as well, including a son that was a U.S. Representative and two sons that were U.S. Senators. In 1890, President Benjamin Harrison became a guest of the Pattons while on a speaking tour throughout the area. Mr. Patton was also a community minded Methodist that was dedicated to giving back to Curwensville. He donated the funds to build the Patton Grade School as well as the Methodist Church that still stands today. 

The house in which we are receiving from the Beardsley family was built in circa 1860 for John Patton and his family. It was the center point of five large homes built by the Pattons and occupied by their children, that spread from Pine Street to the base of Ridge Avenue, on the Northern side of State Street. Four of those houses were either demolished or destroyed by fire, with John’s being the only still standing. There are many pieces of history that we know about this building, and much yet to be discovered. There is reason to believe that this house was either used, or intended to be used, in harboring slaves along the Underground Railroad. 

We cannot thank the Beardsley family enough for their generosity of this donation. Our society will now have a building that has better parking, easy access for visitors, accessible restrooms, the ability hold events, and safely store and display our collection for years to come. Perhaps most importantly of all, we now have ability to preserve one of the most historically significant buildings in Curwensville’s History. 

Stay tuned on our Facebook Page as we look forward to welcoming the public to our new home in the near future!

The Curwensville-Pike Twp. Historical Society was an idea by a 14-year old local youth.  

Formed in March of 1978 after the late William "Smokey" Osborn reached out to community leaders on the need for this type of organization. 

In the Fall of 1989, The Korb House was donated by E. Furman Korb a family member of the late Mildred Korb Houser.

OUR MISSION

We are proud to serve the residents within that area created by the Curwensville Area School District by preserving and maintaining the natural, civil, literary, commercial, economic, and ecclesiastical history that has shaped our community.  By creating powerful engagement with history, we cultivate curiosity foster a more informed society so present and future generations can appreciate the heritage of our community.