Since 1727, the Centennial community has valued educational excellence and innovation.
In 1727 William Tennent founded Log College, Pennsylvania's first college and one of America's oldest, in Warminster. From that humble log structure, its first graduates founded Princeton University and 130 other colleges and universities. An historic monument marks the site and Log College Middle School sits adjacent to the location. William Tennent led "The Great Awakening," an educational enlightenment that occurred and spread throughout the colonies.
John Fitch (1743-1798) invented the steamboat in Warminster, with the first successful trial run on the Delaware River in 1787. The craft was propelled by a rack of canoe-like paddles on either side of the boat.
The birthplace of the American Space Program began at the Johnsville Naval Air Development Center and housed the Centrifuge where astronauts, John Glenn, Neil Armstrong and Scott Carpenter trained. Carpenter was a recent visitor and speaker at Centennial's 40th Anniversary of its Planetarium & Special Experience Room in April, 2009. A new Centrifuge Space & Science Museum is now open on the site, Centennial is a key partner in planning educational programming and exhibits.
