Black Soldiers
At least twenty-eight Black men from Centre County served in the U.S. Colored Troops during the Civil War. Their experiences provide insight into the recruitment of the North’s Free Blacks into the army during the war.
Division: Groups
Alpha Fire Company
The Alpha Fire Company is the volunteer company that serves State College, Penn State, and the surrounding townships. The company was founded in 1899 as the Union Fire Company. A year later, the name was changed to Alpha Fire Company.
Evangelical Churches
Evangelical churches share common roots in the Protestant Reformation and later “awakenings” that established new denominations stressing personal salvation, holiness, emotional worship, and simplicity. Centre County welcomed new churches that blended both German and Scots Irish evangelical traditions.
University Club
The University Club, often known simply as the UClub, is a social organization founded in 1908. Until it was demolished in 2022, the club’s three-story building was a landmark in State College.
University Baptist & Brethren Church
University Baptist & Brethren Church, founded in 1922, was the first Baptist church established in State College. Originally founded as University Baptist Church, it affiliated with the Church of the Brethren in 1968.
St. John’s Episcopal Church
St. John’s Episcopal is one of the oldest churches in Bellefonte and the last to still have its spire. Episcopalians began meeting in Bellefonte in 1825, first in a cabinet shop and later in the Masonic Lodge.
Foxdale Village
Foxdale Village is a Quaker-inspired, non-profit continuing care retirement community in State College. When Foxdale opened in 1990, it fulfilled a vision shared by members of the State College Friends Meeting and supported by community members.
Advent Church
The Advent Church is a historic evangelical church in Boggs Township maintained by the local Advent Historical Society. The church, originally known as the Advent Chapel at Marsh Creek, was built in 1849 by followers of William Miller, a New York farmer and minister.
ClearWater Conservancy
ClearWater Conservancy of Central PA is a nonprofit corporation dedicated to conserving and restoring natural resources across central Pennsylvania, notably the Spring Creek watershed.
State College Woman’s Club
The State College Woman’s Club is a philanthropic organization that since its founding in 1894 has donated more than $700,000 to charitable organizations. The objective of the Woman’s Literary Society, as it was originally known, was to discuss “the questions of the day, social, political, literary, and artistic.”