Gregg Township near Centre Hall in Centre County, Pennsylvania — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
The Legend of Penn's Cave
In the early eighteenth century, long before settlements reached west of Sudbury, PA, a young Frenchman from Lancaster County, Malachi Boyer, set out to explore the wilderness. He roamed into the forests peopled by redskins, with whom he was friendly.
One beautiful April, Malachi was camped at Mammoth Spring, near the Indian camp of Chief O-Ka-Cho, on the shores of Spring Creek near Bellafonte. He made friends with the old chief and sent him small gifts as tokens of friendship. O-Ko-Cho has seven sons and one beautiful daughter, Nita-nee, whom the sons guarded carefully all the time. One day Malachi caught sight of Nita-nee washing a dearskin in the stream and immediately fell in love with her. Since the Indians would not permit their marriage, they decided to run away, and late one night, they departed for the eastern settlements. They were later captured by the seven brothers and were returned to Chief O-Ko-Cho.
O-Ko-Cho commanded his sons to tkae Malachi into a yawning cavern filled with water and thrust him in. Every day for a week he swam back and forth searching vainly for an entrance other than the large one guarded by the merciless Indians. Then exhausted by his efforts and vowing that the Indians should not see him die, he crawled into one of the furthermost recesses of the cavern and breathed his last. The brothers did not touch the body except to weigh it with stones and drop it into the deepest water of the cavern.
After these many years, those who have heard the legend declare that on still summer nights an unaccountable echo still rings through the cavern which sounds like "Nita-nee - Nita-nee". oday, in Central Pennsylvania, we honor the beautiful Indian maiden Nita-nee, by bestowing her name on Nittany Mountain and Nittany Valley, as well as our World Famous Nittany Lion, located at the Penn State University Campus.
Erected by Historic Penn's Cave & Wildlife Park.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Exploration • Native Americans. A significant historical year for this entry is 1892.
Location. 40° 52.935′ N, 77° 36.773′ W. Marker is near Centre Hall, Pennsylvania, in Centre County. It is in Gregg Township. Marker can be reached from Penns Cave Road (Pennsylvania Route 2012) ¼ mile south of Brush Valley Road (Pennsylvania Route 192). Marker is along the walkway from the store to the cave. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 222 Penns Cave Road, Centre Hall PA 16828, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 9 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Penn's Cave Hotel (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Location of Potter's Fort (approx. 4½ miles away); Potter's Fort (approx. 4½ miles away); Bellefonte Air Mail Field (approx. 8.1 miles away); Union Cemetery (approx. 8.7 miles away); James A. "Billboard" Jackson (approx. 8.8 miles away); The Cadillac Building (approx. 8.8 miles away); John Montgomery Ward (approx. 8.8 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Centre Hall.
Also see . . . Penn's Cave. (Submitted on August 30, 2018, by Anton Schwarzmueller of Wilson, New York.)
Credits. This page was last revised on February 7, 2023. It was originally submitted on August 30, 2018, by Anton Schwarzmueller of Wilson, New York. This page has been viewed 607 times since then and 36 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on August 30, 2018, by Anton Schwarzmueller of Wilson, New York.