Pennsylvania created the nation’s first uniformed state police force of its kind by an Act of the General Assembly on May 2, 1905, signed by Governor Samuel Pennypacker. The force was formed in response to concern over labor and capital unrest, especially the Anthracite Coal Strike of 1902. At this site the State Police established its first training academy in 1924, where cadets were trained for 36 years until a new academy was built north of Hershey.