You have found your next adventure! Thank you for joining us for the "Visit Centre County" GeoTour as we show you some of our most favorite caching locations to include state parks, beautiful vistas, and historical points of interest! Our team of GeoTour planners have worked very hard to put together various cache types to keep the GeoTour interesting and challenging; however, no geocache should be beyond a 3/3.5 for terrain and/or difficulty! We are pleased to show you around our County and hope that you will enjoy the GeoTour and complete your passport to collect your custom GeoTour Geocoin (there is a minimum number of caches required to receive coin)!
If you will be caching with some young ‘uns, we have a Jr. Geocaching Passport available for children, 12 yrs. and under, with a special prize for their hard work too! Caches will be marked as "family-friendly" and should correlate to the Jr. Geocaching Passport.
Download your "Visit Centre County" GeoTour passport and/or your Jr. Geocaching Passport or pick-up paper copies at the following coordinates: N 40° 48.879; W 077° 51.274 (Happy Valley Adventure Bureau). You’ll return your passport to the Happy Valley Adventure Bureau when complete and collect your prize if you meet the minimum requirements!
The "Visit Centre County" GeoTour is brought to you by Centre Region Parks and Recreation, the Happy Valley Adventure Bureau, and Groundspeak, Inc. We are pleased that you’ll be joining us in Happy Valley soon! Bring on the Adventures!
About Centre Hall
Centre Hall Borough, located "at the intersection of two early roads, has served for more than 150 years as the market center for the farming communities that are located in richly agricultural Brush and Penns Valleys. The Grange, an organization promoting farming and farm life, formed a local chapter in 1873 under the leadership of Centre Hall area farmer Leonard Rhone. A year later the first Grange Fair was held. It started as a basket picnic in Leech Woods west of town, and has evolved into the annually held Grange Fair and Encampment, the oldest of its kind in the country. The Centre Hall Hotel was built in 1847. The Lewisburg and Tyrone Railroad, later acquired by the Pennsylvania Railroad system, brought its passenger service into Centre Hall in 1884." (from Centre County Historical Society)
This cache may be done as a walking tour of Centre Hall from start to finish (roughly 1.75 miles round trip along the suggested route which runs from near one end of the borough to the other), with five stops along the way before the final cache location. It may be possible to park for the first two stops and them move the vehicle for the last three stops of the tour. The final container is located at a distance from the the information-gathering portion of the cache that would make it wise to move the vehicle from the tour to the location of the final cache, which is within 2 miles of the '?' icon on the map.
Follow the instructions and visit each of the five stops along the way (the posted coordinates and four additional listed waypoints) to get numbers that will be used for locating the final cache. As you walk along Pennsylvania Ave (PA-144) through the borough, you will be able to stay on one side of the street without crossing PA-144. Use normal pedestrian cautions when crossing side streets. Enjoy the small town setting, along with the building architecture and highlights along the way.
A parking waypoint is provided for street-side parking near the first stage (posted coordinates). If moving the car between stops, additional street-side parking may be found on the side streets as needed. Please obey any parking signs and restrictions in place. Ample parking is available near the final solved coordinates. (A "correct" on the provided geo-checker will provide the additional suggested parking for the final stage.)
A variety of food options may also be available near the posted coordinates and initial parking for possibly visiting before or after the walking tour. An additional food option is also available near stop five (although a careful crossing of PA-144 would be required if on foot).
This cache is placed with explicit permission of the park authority for the final cache location.
Suggested walking tour map (click map for slightly larger image)
Base map by OpenStreetMap / www.openstreetmap.org
Walking Tour Stops
Stop One (at the posted / "?" coordinates):
To start this walking tour, from the parking coordinates (or wherever you parked), walk to the coordinates published for this cache (the "?" icon). Here you should be on the corner of two PA state roads, PA-144 and PA-192. Look across the street for a sign that contains the name of the borough. At the bottom of the sign is a four-digit number. A = the LAST digit of that number.
Stop Two (see the 'Stop 2' waypoint coordinates):
Facing the building at this waypoint, look for a large-sized number in a shield, positioned above the right (smaller) door of the three garage doors. B = THIS LARGE-SIZED NUMBER (which used to be 4) minus 1. (It has been reported that this building may no longer contain any signage from when this cache was created, so B = 4 - 1.)
The Centre Hall Fire Company provides fire protection and emergency response services to the Centre Hall community. The Fire Department's mission is to prevent the loss of life and property. In addition to responding to fires, the Centre Hall Fire Company also responds to medical emergencies, motor vehicle accidents, rescue calls, and incidents involving hazardous materials.
Stop Three (see the 'Stop 3' waypoint coordinates):
At the coordinates, you will see the Progress Grange building with a cornerstone located on the southeast corner of the structure. C = THIRD DIGIT minus the FOURTH DIGIT of the date on the cornerstone.
Progress Grange is located in a large brick building on the main street through Centre Hall. The building sits at the end of the street leading to the Grange Fairgrounds. The Grange Fair is over 130 years old and draws visitors from around the state. (from waymarks site)
The National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry, is a fraternal organization in the United States that encourages families to band together to promote the economic and political well-being of the community and agriculture. The Grange, founded after the Civil War in 1867, is the oldest American agricultural advocacy group with a national scope. (from Wikipedia)
Stop Four (see the 'Stop 4' waypoint coordinates):
The coordinates for this stop are right outside the Grange Fair administration building (and near the Grange Fair gate). On the front of this building is a door near the middle of the building. To the right of this door is a green square with a white-printed two-digit number. D = SECOND DIGIT of this number.
Centre Hall hosts the Centre County Grange Encampment and Fair, known to most as the "Grange Fair". The Fair attracts tens of thousands of people during its run, and takes place the last full Thursday to Thursday week in August annually. It is one of the few remaining tenting fairs in the United States, with nearly a thousand "army-style" tents laid in rows throughout the grounds. Read more about the fair.
Stop Five (see the 'Stop 5' waypoint coordinates):
Centre Hall used to be a train stop along The Lewisburg and Tyrone Railroad, previously known as the Lewisburg, Centre and Spruce Creek Railroad. Standing at the "Stop 5" coordinates, you should see the former station building across the street (and probably imagine that the old railroad tracks were to pass right past where you are standing). The tracks may be gone, but the old station building continues to be used as a restaurant.
E = the number of train cars seen standing near the old station building across the street (plus one). Note the update of the plus one as this stage has changed
For more information on the old railroad, see Wikipedia or this article.
If walking, you may return back to the starting point by walking back up the street northwest. You will pass a few architecturally interesting homes that would not have been seen if walking the suggested route past 'Stop 4' to 'Stop 5'.
Thank you for taking the time to visit the Borough of Centre Hall!
The final cache container will be located by putting in the numbers:
N 40 50.ACA W 77 41.DBE
You may check your answer here:
Visit Centre County GeoTour (GT494) member geocache