1861 Map of Centre County

Thomas Ferguson, who bought 321 acres of land in 1791 for 300 pounds in gold and silver coins, is credited with founding Pine Grove Mills. In 1800, he dammed Slab Cabin Run and built the first of the mills that would eventually give the town its name. According to local tradition, a grove of pine trees separating two of the early mills along the run, provided the rest of the name.  The map above was created by Henry Francis Walling in1861 and encompassed all of Centre County.  The W.D. Ross Farm shown on the map just above the "S" in Pine Grove Mills is what we now call The Limestone Inn, which was built in 1800. (Source: Centre Daily Times)