The "Boalsburg, PA - The Birthplace of Memorial Day: Part I" Story

The "Diamond" (center square) in Boalsburg, PA

It was an ordinary day.  I'm alone as I walk along Main Street in the quaint old town of Boalsburg in Centre County, Pennsyl- vania.  This town began in 1804 when David Boal, a Scottish-Irish pioneer, built a tavern at a heavily traveled crossroads to serve pioneers going west.  Must have been successful, since four years later Andrew Stroup laid out what was first known as Springfield Village which had houses built close to the street with porches that allowed neighbors to interact with one another.  

Duffy's Tavern near the center of town.

The center of the town, where the crossroads intersected, was used as a market place and as an area to turn horse-drawn wagons around.  This area became known as the "diamond" of the village.  Townsfolk had gardens in their back yards with small barns, chicken coops and ice houses.  By 1835 there were three taverns to serve the travelers who passed through this ever-growing town.  

This was the town pump where many
gathered to obtain water.  It was restored
in 1991 as an Eagle Scout project by
Mark Roland, Troop 380, Boalsburg.

One tavern, known as Duffy's Tavern, is directly in front of me as I hold my camera to my eye for a photograph of the beautiful stone building.  The village thrived until the late 1850's as the home and workplace of tinsmiths, wool weavers, hat makers, rifle smiths and wagon builders.  At the time, Centre County was the center of America's iron industry.  Eventually the iron industry moved westward and the bustling village became more quaint and quiet with farming growing in popularity.  In 1864 three village ladies decorated two graves in the town's cemetery with flowers and American flags to commemorate their service to their country.  The graves were recent graves of Dr. Reuben Hunter, a doctor who died treating Civil War soldiers with yellow fever and Amos Meyer who died while serving with Company G of the 148th PA Volunteer Infantry.  

Click on this photo to see all the rain spouts being directed
over the pavement into the street.  Many homes are like this.

The ladies' honor to their kinsmen was said to have been the birth of our nation's Memorial Day.  The North Church Street cemetery is a short distance from where I stand after taking my photo of Duffy's Tavern.  Eventually a post office was built in 1920 and Springfield Village was renamed Boalsburg in honor of its founding father, David Boal.  With me today is Carol and our friends Jerry and Just Sue who live in nearby State College.  

A street sign telling of other

I talked them into a trip to Boalsburg so I could take a few photos to share with you showing the rather unique way the houses drain their rainwater from the roofs into the street.  Little did I know when I stepped from the car that I was about to learn another story about the history of the United States.  Jerry parked his car along the street in Diamond Square and we began a short walking tour of the four blocks that surround the famous center of town.  Then it was a short drive, first past Sue's childhood home along Main Street, to the Boal Mansion and Columbus Chapel.  The Mansion is a beautifully restored stone building with several outbuildings and a chapel.  The original building was a log home which was built in the early 1800's by David Boal.  All told, eight generations of the family have lived in the home.  

Sue's childhood home along Main Street.

David's son, George, served in the Pennsyl- vania House of Represen- tatives.  George was responsible for having the state's Farmer's School (now known as Penn State University) located in nearby State College in 1855.  George's grandson Theodore, trained as an architect and designed several buildings in Denver, CO before traveling to Paris to continue his studies.  

The Boal Mansion at the edge of town.

While there he married a French aristocrat who was related to Christopher Columbus.  When his wife's aunt died, Theodore and his wife inherited the Columbus family castle in Asturias, Spain.  Talk about being lucky in love.  Theodore wanted to move the castle on the property to Boalsburg, but knowing the Spanish government wouldn't allow it, he built an exact replica of the castle's chapel, had the entire chapel taken apart and boxed and shipped back to Boalsburg in 1909.  

The Columbus Chapel near Boal Mansion.

That chapel now sits about a hundred yards from the Boal Mansion on a small knoll.  On the other side of the mansion sits a very large barn which now serves as a theatre in the summer months.  I managed to get a few photographs of the mansion and the outbuildings, but didn't have a chance to take photographs inside Columbus Chapel.  

The Barn/Theatre near the Boal Mansion.

I have seen published photos of the inside of the chapel and I told everyone it looks like we will have to make another visit to Boalsburg when the chapel opens for visitors in the summer months.  As we were leaving town, we passed the the Boalsburg Cemetery and naturally had to stop to see the historic location.  Tomorrow I will take you on a visit with me to the site that was the home of Memorial Day in the U.S.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.