Bellefonte Art Museum for Centre County

Built in 1810 and often referred to as the Linn House in local histories, the building that currently houses the Bellefonte Art Museum for Centre County was once a residential property, serving as a home to several prominent residents in the 19th and 20th centuries. During those many years of domesticity, the house acquired a rich history, one that includes a connection to the Underground Railroad. 

Both Mary Benner Wilson, who lived in the home during the 1840s, and Jacob Valentine Thomas, who occupied the residence in the 1850s and was the son of William A. Thomas, are believed to have been active in the Underground Railroad during the years they resided in the Linn home. Adding credence to such claims is the existence of a hidden crawl space located on the building’s third floor, a compartment that purportedly concealed escaped slaves who were en route to Canada. Although we likely will never know the names of the African Americans who found refuge in this “secret room,” the brutalities carried out on the plantations from which they fled and the difficulties they faced while escaping those sites of terror are thoroughly documented. Consequently, after learning of the room’s existence [from oral histories of local residents], museum staff thought that it was only appropriate to welcome the Bellefonte community to stand witness to the fortitude of the individuals who endured the unimaginable to find freedom for themselves and for their loved ones (Pettus 2016).

Continue your self-guided tour!