Curwensville is the second-most populous borough in Clearfield County. Its history of Euro settlement dates back over two centuries and First Nation peoples came and went there for, perhaps, thousands of years.
In time, Curwensville became a typical American growth story. It was an epicenter of the early logging and rafting industry. Homesteads, businesses, churches and schools all thrived in Curwensville.
The latter half of the 19th and the early decades of the 20th centuries brought railroads, area coal mining, small manufacturing, brickyards and more uniquely; stone quarries.
Immigration and a strong work ethic served to enhance Curwensville and instill a civic pride that is evident to this day. The town, despite the pressures of the modern era, remains one that is overall cohesive and where residents are generally friendly.
The imagined absence of Curwensville would leave a gaping hole in the history of Clearfield County.
Irvin Park lies on the borough’s bank of the Susquehanna River. It was first claimed by William Bloom, a Revolutionary War veteran, and later, by litigation, was passed to William Irvin. Irvin’s descendants gifted the tree shaded park area to Curwensville Borough in 1922.
For decades, before the construction of Curwensville Dam, the park’s river bank, known as the “Pee Wee’s Nest” became a prime swimming area for the town’s kids and adults.
Curwensville has a rich historic and contemporary past that has been celebrated each July with the Curwensville Days event. The event began as an embryonic festival in 1969.
It was sponsored by the towns Jaycee (Junior Chamber of Commerce) group. The celebration took a leap forward as the town’s 175th anniversary was marked in 1974. From then, Curwensville Days has grown bigger and better, year after year and decade after decade.
Civic organizations, church groups and business displays have been represented at Curwensville. The weeklong event has been topped off with a large parade down State Street and Susquehanna Avenue, finishing at Irvin Park.
The organizational and maintenance work that is poured into Curwensville Days, by so many is indeed fantastic.
2020 was the year that was lost to the COVID pandemic. Curwensville Days was another county victim. But it is back and will commence on July, 11 2021.
One photo shows an early parade on State Street. It looks to be from the immediate post World War II era. The old Rex Theater is shown.
Irvin Park is shown in a photo from the 1920’s, a century ago. An iron bridge spans the river. It shows the riverbank thick with trees and kids playing or skipping stones on the river’s surface. Some things haven’t changed in a hundred years.
