If you live in the Hershey area, you can’t help but notice the strange buildings being constructed on the hill that holds the Pennsylvania State Police Academy. It’s very difficult to picture the final product from Hersheypark Drive. To get an idea of what’s occurring now, you may need to go back in time a little, about 100 years ago.

     Before the Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) began training their recruits in Hershey, they had their facility in Pottsville and then Newville. Through a mutual agreement between Milton S. Hershey and Lynn G. Adams, superintendent of the PSP, the chocolate tycoon allowed Adams to place his new “Training School” in an unoccupied dairy farm on Cocoa Avenue.

     Upon their arrival in 1924, the old Farnsler farmhouse and barn had to be altered to meet the needs of student recruits and their instructors. In addition, these same barracks would provide much needed law enforcement for the town, including guarding the chocolate factory payroll and making sure the trolley and its passengers were safe from non-law-abiding scoundrels. It wasn’t just a school, but a “School Troop,” with regular horse patrols and worst case: murder investigations.

     When the buildings on Cocoa Avenue became too antiquated, and quite frankly a potential fire hazard, new land on the hill just east of The Hotel Hershey was acquired through the Hershey Estates. Ground was broken on top of the hill in 1958, and by 1960, a new modern Academy was built. It was brick and steel, unlike the farm, and even included air conditioning. Like the Training School, the Academy had to be altered over time, like constructing dormitories where female Cadets would live. But just as in 1958, another significant change was needed. A brand-new, state-of-the-art Academy needed to be built and should easily be the envy of all police training sites in the country. Construction is scheduled to be completed in 2028.

     Acting Commissioner, Lieutenant Colonel Bivens, stated, "Our current facility served us incredibly well but could not keep pace with the demands of a modern law enforcement training facility."

     Once completed, it will contain 300 individual dormitory rooms, have an indoor gun range, several outdoor tactical training cities, a cafeteria, fireproof horse stables, two gymnasiums, a swimming pool, a 500 seat auditorium, and a large warehouse. Lieutenant Colonel Bivens offered, “Our new Academy ensures we're offering the absolute best environment for training new troopers, attracting the best recruits, and working in collaboration with our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners. This world-class facility will serve as a reminder to all who see it that the Pennsylvania State Police is committed to providing the best and most professional police service possible to the residents of our Commonwealth.”