The Garfield Thomas Water Tunnel is a historic engineering landmark on the Penn State campus that, for more than 70 years, has been used for research into military technology and other subjects. Built in 1949 it named in honor of Lt. j.g. Garfield Thomas, who died in fighting during World War II.
The Allen Street Gates are the historic entrance to today’s Penn State campus. Located at the intersection of College Avenue and Allen Street, the gates are a traditional gathering place for university and State College events.
When slavery is mentioned in the history of Centre County, it is usually in the context of abolitionism and the Underground Railroad in the decades before the Civil War. However, the county also has its own local history of slavery and slave ownership.
Brockerhoff Mill is a historic grist mill in Benner Township and one of only two brick mill buildings still standing in Centre County. Daniel Turner developed the area around the mill on the west side of Spring Creek near Bellefonte in the 1790s, building a forge, sawmill, and gristmill. However, by 1801 the enterprise had […]
The Egg Hill Church in Potter Township was one of the first Evangelical churches in Penns Valley and is considered an outstanding example of the early country churches built in Centre County. The church building, located on an isolated hilltop on Short Mountain, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Memorial Field is the historic home of State College Area High School athletic programs and other community events. Once a farmer’s field with a prominent sinkhole on the edge of the borough, the area around what is now Memorial Field became the home to State College schools starting with a two-story, four-room schoolhouse that opened in 1897.
The Allegheny Front Trail is a 42-mile loop through Moshannon State Forest that roughly encircles Black Moshannon State Park. Completed by volunteers in the 1990s, it is the longest hiking trail entirely within Centre County.
The Boogersburg School is a historic one-room schoolhouse in Patton Township where students were educated for 75 years. On May 1, 1877, Moses Thompson, the owner and ironmaster of the Centre Furnace, deeded land on what is now Fox Hollow Road for the schoolhouse. Thompson wanted to provide a school for the children of his […]
The embodiment of the Penn State spirit for many is the statue of the Nittany Lion, situated in a small grove of trees to the east of Rec Hall. It is quite likely the most photographed place on the campus. Hundreds of thousands of students in caps and gowns at graduation, couples in wedding garb, […]
The Nittany Lion is Penn State’s beloved mascot, “storied in song and legend.” It takes its name from Mount Nittany and the mountain lions that once roamed there and across Pennsylvania. Today, the Lion mascot is ubiquitous across campus for sporting, philanthropic, or any event that inspires the cheer “WE ARE … PENN STATE!”