Bellefonte Historical and Cultural
Association
Bellefonte, Pennsylvania
Fred D Smith Gallery of Postcards and Photos
of The Big Spring, The Match Factory, and the Falls on Spring Creek: The
Talleyrand Park Area
Virtual Walking Tour Stop 41
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The Big Spring and the Pumphouse, before the spring was covered. Fred D Smith
Collection
The Big Spring is the defining element of Bellefonte.
By one account, the French statesman Talleyrand
indirectly suggested a
name for Bellefonte to Mrs. Ann
Dunlop Harris, about 1795, when visiting the spring.
The spring is still the domestic water source for Bellefonte
as well as other communities, with a daily flow of 11,500,000 gallons.
Major William F Reynolds gave The Big Spring to the town on October 1, 1879 for
the price of $1.00. The present pumphouse was built in 1926 and was
restored in 2006. The
spring is now covered with a synthetic fabric because of environmental
regulations (see the picture in the fifth row below).
The Match Factory was run by the Pennsylvania Match Company
and later by the Universal Match Company.
In 1911 it was one of the eight largest match factories in the nation.
Despite a surge in production during World War II, by
1947 operations at the factory had ceased. Now the home of The American
Philatelic Society, it lies a few hundred yards to the west of the Spring.
The land between the Match Factory and the Spring and the land to their north is
the present-day Talleyrand Park, including the Falls on Spring Creek.
Click on the thumbnails to enlarge the images:
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Big Spring 1
Area of houses behind the pumphouse is now part of Talleyrand Park |
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Big Spring 6
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Big Spring 2B
looking west |
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Looking east toward the Academy on the hill
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Big Spring 7
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Big Spring 13
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Big Spring 17
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Big Spring 3B
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Big Spring 4
~1910 |
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Big Spring 4B
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Big Spring 8
looking west toward the Match Factory |
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Big Spring 10
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Big Spring 14
Match Factory to the west |
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Big Spring 18
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Big Spring 19
looking southwest |
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Big Spring 101
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Big Spring 21
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Big Spring 22
Match Factory to the west |
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Big Spring 23
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Big Spring 96
A more modern view but before the cover was installed (see next photo) |
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Big Spring, 2006, with a synthetic cover and a restored pumphouse
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Big Spring 99
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Big Spring 102
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Falls 1 on Spring Creek
Match Factory in the distance |
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Falls 2
Match Factory in the distance |
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Falls 3
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Falls 4
looking south along S. Water St. |
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Falls 5
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Falls 6
the houses and gas station were cleared for Talleyrand Park |
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1936 Flood
The same falls area flooded; Match Factory in the distance |
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The McClain Building on Spring Creek was removed and replaced by Talleyrand Park.
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Match Factory 1
Looking south. Spring Creek in the foreground |
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Match Factory 2
Same view, but with more buildings added |
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Match Factory 3
Same view as other two images |
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Mill on Willowbank Street near the Big Spring and the MatchFactory
Powered by flow from a dammed-up Logan Branch mill pond |
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The Willowbank St. mill
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