Amos Neyhart, a Penn State faculty member and longtime resident of State College, originated driver education programs in the United States. In 1933, he started teaching students at State College High School to drive. He later taught the first course instructing others how to teach driver education.
Lemont is a historic village in College Township nestled at the base of Nittany Mountain. Traditionally known as “The End of the Mountain,” it slowly grew as a settlement in the early 1800s as an important crossroads connecting the Nittany and Penns valleys.
The American Legion & Auxiliary Junior Drum and Bugle Corps was a popular activity for Centre County youth for about twenty-five years in the mid-20th century. The State College corps won several state championships and, in 1941, a national championship.
Penn State’s THON is a 46-hour dance marathon at Penn State that has become the largest student-run philanthropy in the world. Since its founding in 1973, the event has raised more than $190 million. The Four Diamonds Fund at Penn State Children’s Hospital is the event’s sole beneficiary.
The Little German Band is a popular State College-based group that has been performing around Centre County since 1960. The band got its start when a group of HRB-Singer employees who were musicians played Christmas carols in the German “oompah” style.
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.
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.
The Bellefonte Victorian Christmas is a two-day holiday event that looks back at the borough’s history. The event was founded in 1981 to remember how the holiday season was celebrated during the heyday of Bellefonte during the 1800s and has grown over the years to become a popular family tradition.
First Night State College is a family-oriented community event that celebrates the beginning of a new year. The event was founded in 1994 and patterned after First Night festivals across the United States that are intended to promote the performing and visual arts as a means to unify citizens on New Year’s Eve.
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.