Danville, PA

The borough of Danville is located on the northern shore of the scenic Susquehanna River in Montour County, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1792, Danville was an important center for the production of iron throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, producing the majority of the iron rails used by the nation’s expanding railroad system. Danville’s Montour Iron Works, once the nation’s largest rail producing mill, rolled the first T-rail in 1845, which revolutionized the rail industry.

Danville has retained many of the homes and public buildings of the early industrial era. The historic downtown, with its nineteenth century architecture, is home to antique stores, art galleries, restaurants and specialty shops.

Danville celebrates its rich industrial history during the annual Iron Heritage Festival, held throughout the borough during the third of weekend of July. This celebration of the “Iron Age” is one of the largest historic festivals in central Pennsylvania, featuring an artisan encampment with period crafts and demonstrations. The celebration of Danville’s storied past continues with the annual Heritage Christmas festival, which provides holiday carriage rides and tours of historic homes.

Even as it celebrates its past, Danville, home of the Geisinger Medical Center, looks toward the future as a center for healthcare and technology. Geisinger is the largest rural healthcare facility in the United States and widely considered to be one of the finest and most innovative medical centers in the country. Geisinger recently opened its Center for Health Research on the Danville campus.

The greater Danville area has several unique recreational opportunities. At Knoebels Amusement Resort in nearby Elysburg, you can take a wild ride on two of the country’s finest wooden roller coasters or reach for the old fashioned brass ring on the antique carousel. Knoebels is the nation’s largest free admission amusement park, with food, fun and entertainment for everyone.

The PPL Montour Environmental Preserve, located in nearby Washingtonville, offers a variety of educational and recreational opportunities including: hiking, bird watching , cross-country skiing, and boating and fishing on the 165 acre Lake Chillisquaque. You can hunt for fossils in the Fossil Pit, an exposed shale bank that contains marine fossils from over 300 million years ago. The Visitors Center serves as a nature and history museum with a variety of displays and exhibits. In addition to Montour Preserve, several of Pennsylvania’s renowned state parks are within easy access of Danville, providing virtually unlimited recreational opportunities for any season.

Montour County
http://www.montourco.org/

Danville Borough
http://www.danvilleboro.org/

Pennsylvania State Parks
http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/stateparks/

Geisinger Medical Center
http://www.geisinger.org/

Danville Area School District
http://www.danville.k12.pa.us/

PPL Montour Environmental Preserve
http://www.pplweb.com/

Knoebels Amusement Resort
http://www.knoebels.com/