(12/2024) Adams Economic Alliance officials are partnering with the newly-formed nonprofit Pennsylvania Agricultural Discovery Center, a $26 million project envisioned as an agritourism attraction coming to Adams County, enhancing the world-class collection of museums and facilities near Gettysburg, "the most famous small town in America."
The center’s plans include a large "State of Agriculture" interactive table where visitors can see where their food and fiber comes from, a 4D theater to immerse visitors in the unique and vital story of the Keystone State’s agriculture and an ag-themed outdoor playground for children, for which the Alliance secured the project’s first grant—$658,150 from the Commonwealth Financing Authority.
"The Alliance deeply believes in forging long-lasting relationships with community partners such as the PA Ag Discovery Center," said Robin Fitpatrick, Alliance President. "Similarly, like a seed, planted and growing, the center will not only positively impact Adams County’s economy and community for years to come, but it’s designed to educate the American public and elevate the ag industry for generations to come."
Powering the center’s vision is a 10-member Board of Directors representing a wide variety of agricultural organizations and interests across Pennsylvania, led by Chairman David Smith of the PA Dairymen’s Association.
"It’s cliché, but every generation is further removed from agriculture," Smith said, "and the PA Ag Discovery Center will help bridge that gap. Our mission is to engage visitors by promoting and celebrating the journey of agriculture, while empowering future generations to explore its essential role in their lives—including a multitude of diverse, innovative career opportunities on the horizon."
The PA Ag Discovery Center’s Board named Tom O’Connor of Camp Hill as its first Executive Director in April, building on his 13-year track record leading and growing York County’s Leg Up Farm, a one-of-a-kind facility providing a variety of therapies to individuals and families with special needs.
"Much like the opportunity to be part of a new organization at Leg Up Farm, growing and expanding the project from the infant stage into a vital entity serving the community, the PA Ag Discovery Center will be a one-of-a-kind agricultural facility within the greater Mid-Atlantic region and beyond," said O’Connor.
Working from an office housed within the Alliance’s Adams Commerce Center, O’Connor and his board are in the final stage of site selection for the 25,000-square-foot facility’s Adams County location. Thanks to seed money, the nonprofit is concluding a feasibility study and preparing for a 2025 capital campaign, buoyed by public response thus far.
"People are constantly amazed that there’s nothing like this anywhere along the East Coast already," O’Connor said, "that educates and celebrates the world of agriculture from all sides, from innovative careers, crops and food production, manufacturing and processing, to grocery stores and consumers’ homes and tables."
"Within the agriculture-rich South Central Pennsylvania region, Adams County’s agricultural roots were planted long before the Civil War’s Battle of Gettysburg put our county on the map," said Fitzpatrick. "Adams County agriculture continues to flourish in unique ways today, including our fruit belt soils which yield more apples than any other county in the state, and the infinite ways agriculture enriches Adams County’s quality of life."
The project would further diversify Adams County’s tourism industry: The most recent National Park Service data shows 840,000 visitors came to Gettysburg National Military Park and Eisenhower National Historic Site in 2023, spending $61.4 million dollars. Those numbers are rebounding from pandemic dips, moving closer to longtime averages between 1 and 2-million visitors annually. In 2024, Gettysburg was named the friendliest city in America by Booking.com.
PA Ag Discovery founders visited and evaluated four Pennsylvania counties, including Adams, as potential locations, during a years-long evaluation process. Fitzpatrick attributes "the strength of Team Adams" as the reason Adams County attained the project, citing the Board of Commissioners, Destination Gettysburg, Adams County Planning and Development, Adams County Technical Institute, leadership within private industry and many other partners.
"This project has been in the dream stage for more than 10 years," said Smith, "and what it came down to is this: The Adams County Commissioners and Team Adams were 100% behind this project—they bought into our dream and embraced it."
For more information on the Pennsylvania Agricultural Discovery Center, see discoverpaag.org.
The Adams Economic Alliance is comprised of three organizations: The Adams County Economic Development Corporation (ACEDC), the Adams County Industrial Development Authority (ACIDA) and the Adams County General Authority (ACGA). For more information, see adamsalliance.org.
