Tour America's History: Brookville Historic District

Friday, May 17, 2013

Brookville Historic District

View Brookville Historic District in a larger map

Visit our Tour Destination: Pennsylvania page to see the entire tour of the state’s Save America’s Treasures sites.

The restored Jefferson County Court House in Brookville.

Brookville Historic District

Brookville, PA

Website: Historic Brookville

Jefferson County History Center

The Treasure: The restored houses and businesses of Brookville Historic District are a welcome reminder of the picturesque hospitality of 19th century small-town Pennsylvania.

Accessibility: Open year round.

Background: Small rural towns may look like they’ll last forever but in reality they inexorably change. Maps are dotted with boom towns that dwindle to ghost towns. And, conversely, tiny communities suddenly spring up like mushrooms overnight. In either case, the nature of the town—the way it looks and the way it is experienced—often changes altogether. Towns have a hard time holding onto their pasts.

Victorian details on the facade of a building on Main Street.

Located in the rural northwest portion of Pennsylvania, Brookville has somehow beaten the odds and stubbornly retained its charming late-Victorian-era appearance. A 2006 Save America’s Treasures grant provided some welcome preservation assistance, contributing to the restoration of the facades of eligible homes and businesses located within the Historic District, including the handsome 1869 Jefferson County Court House. Funding also went to the Jefferson County History Center, located in the newly preserved N. G. Edelblute Building (1855-1875) on Main Street, enabling the History Center to address accessibility and energy issues.

Settlers first moved here in the early years of the 19th century, attracted by its strategic location at the confluence of the North Fork Redbank Creek and the Sandy Lick creeks. Bears, wolves, and rattlesnakes retreated deeper into the surrounding woods as the town grew. The completion of the S&W toll road in 1822 provided a further boost to the growing town. The lumber industry flourished, with lumber mills floating timber down the creeks to Pittsburgh. Other businesses established themselves within the town, including hotels, a ladder factory, a glass and tile factory, two breweries, furniture companies, and a carriage manufacturer.

In the early years of the automotive industry, Robert Twyford established the Twyford Motor Car Company in Brooksville. On a ten-acre site, the company produced the Twyford Stanhope, now credited as the first four-wheel-drive automobile. Local historian William McCracken has built a full-scale replica of a Twyford car, which is one of the most popular exhibits at the Jefferson County History Center.

The Marlin Opera House block on Main Street.

While a stroll through the town suggests America’s past, a visit to the Jefferson County History Center provides the historic details of everyday life in this region of the country. The Living on the Land permanent exhibit uses original artifacts to explore the land’s early settlement, as well as its businesses and industries. In addition, the History Center features a recreated Victorian parlor, a model railroad exhibit, and an art gallery, all summoning up the feel of Brookville in the old days.

Historic postcard of Main Street, Brookville, looking west.
Image courtesy of Jefferson County History Center.

Historic postcard view of Main Street, Brookville.
Image courtesy of Jefferson County History Center.

Other Recommended Sites: The borough of Punxsutawney, famous for its prognosticating groundhog, is located in Jefferson County, just twenty miles southeast of Brookville. Punxsutawney Phil’s annual big event takes place at Gobbler’s Knob on February 2.