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.”
Way Fruit Farm is a sixth-generation family farm that has expanded to include a retail store and tourism events. The Ways were a pioneering Quaker family that came to the Halfmoon Valley in 1792. Caleb and Jane Way built a farm in Stormstown, and in 1826 one of their children bought 90 acres that became the farm.
Harold Altman was an internationally known artist who lived and worked in Centre County for more than forty years. He is best known for his lithographs, which include scenes of the county. Altman was a prolific artist who produced thousands of lithographs, etchings, drawings, and paintings.
McCoy’s Dam on Spring Creek provided hydroelectric power for Centre County during the first half of the twentieth century. The dam, south of Milesburg, was idled for five decades before being razed in 2007 to improve the creek’s water quality.
The American Philatelic Society is the world’s largest nonprofit organization dedicated to stamp collecting. Since 1945, the society’s headquarters has been in Centre County. It employs 34 full-time staff in the former Pennsylvania Match Factory in Bellefonte. The offices include the American Philatelic Research Library.
The Nittany Valley Symphony is a community orchestra that has been performing in Centre County since 1967. The symphony was organized by Ann Keller of State College to perform at the first Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts. She recruited local musicians, most of whom held other jobs.
Bear Meadows Natural Area is an 890-acre protected zone within Rothrock State Forest that is known for its unusual swamp and rare plants. It is protected both as a State Forest Natural Area and as a United States National Natural Landmark.
Scotia was the scene of iron ore mining from the late 1700s to the 1940s, supplying ore to Centre County’s early iron furnaces and, years later, to Andrew Carnegie’s Pittsburgh steel mills.The iron pits are part of a larger area now known as the Scotia Barrens, covering parts of Half Moon, Patton, and Ferguson townships.
The American Association of University Women Used Book Sale is a popular community event that raises more than $100,000 annually for scholarships and other causes. The State College branch of the AAUW started the sale in 1962.
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.