Brockway was laid out in 1836 and became a lumbering center in the later half of the 19th century. Beginning in the 1890s, it became a center of glass manufacturing. The Taylor Memorial Museum is notable for its vast display of glass from local industry. Brockway is widely known for its Old Fashioned 4th of July celebration and one of the region's most notable hiking trails, the 19-mile Clarion Little Toby Creek Trail. The trail begins here and winds along the banks of the Little Toby Creek and the picturesque Clarion River, passing old logging dams and ghost towns along the way.