Bellefonte: The Town That Made Seven Governors

Small towns have a way of quietly producing outsized political talent, and Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, built a record that is nearly impossible to explain.

This Centre County seat, settled around a limestone spring admired by Talleyrand and named for its beautiful fountain, was home to seven governors, five of Pennsylvania and two of other states. Among them was Andrew Gregg Curtin, who governed from eighteen sixty-one to eighteen sixty-seven and became known as the Soldiers' Friend for his fierce support of Union troops and Pennsylvania families during the Civil War. James Beaver, who lost his leg at Ream's Station in eighteen sixty-four, was elected governor in eighteen eighty-seven. Daniel Hastings served in the eighteen nineties.

A monument in Talleyrand Park names all seven. No other Pennsylvania town comes close to matching the record. Why Bellefonte? Historians point to its courthouse, its proximity to Penn State, and a culture of civic ambition that ran unusually deep.