Nestled among trees, the Monongahela River, and a set of train tracks that winds into the distance, is a town that is home to many college students.
It's also home to Lagerheads, The California Boat Club, and a dense patch of woods that marks the end of town.
No, it's not California Borough. It's California's stepsister, Coal Center.
"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and that's really true for Coal Center," said Jody Rutten, a senior majoring in physics at California University.
Coal Center can be found by making an awkward one-lane pass under one bridge and then by crossing another one-lane bridge. This often causes problems for travelers who may not expect the road to suddenly convert into just one lane.
"I hate the bridge going into Coal Center. I feel like I am either going to get hit by oncoming traffic or my tires get caught in the grooves or something," Rutten said. "And all the while, I am assuming that the bridge will collapse."
If you make it off the bridge and into the town itself, it doesn't appear as though there is much to look at. A few barren streets branch off the main road that parallels the river. After traveling a few hundred yards farther, however, one of the premier hangout spots in the area can be found, Lagerheads.
Lagerheads has been operating out of Coal Center for several years and is owned and operated by Joy and Mark Koehler.
Lagerheads has a casual, bar-like atmosphere with food that has an upscale spin. New York strip steak, cheese fries, and what Joy Koehler refers to as "the best quesadillas anywhere" all are on the menu.
"I like to eat. I wouldn't serve anything that I wouldn't enjoy eating myself," Joy Koehler said.
Lagerheads exudes a certain ambiance that draws customers in and keeps them coming back.
"Some of our charm is that we are a work in progress," Joy Koehler said. "Instead of shutting down and renovating the building and the inside, we just work on it a little by little. People will come in one day and notice that the floor has just been put in, and they will come in another day and notice that the bar is on the opposite side of the room than it was the night before."
After filling up on some fine food and loosening up with a few drinks at Lagerheads, one could head on over to the California Boat Club and take a little cruise on the Mon. That is, if you own a boat.
The club is located on the Monongahela River and slightly down the road from Lagerheads. The boat club, itself, which is run by Nancy Victoria, is used for docking boats that can be sailed on the Mon.
Victoria was unavailable for comment, but a call to the boat club got Victoria's mother, who confirmed that they dock at least 25 boats there every year.
Finally, after a nice boating experience, one could go for a walk in the woods around Coal Center.
Thick, authentic Pennsylvania forest can be seen all around the town and provides ample protection against strong winds that blow from oncoming thunderstorms.
A set of train tracks marks the end of town and the beginning of the wilderness that is the forest of Coal Center.
"There are a couple of nice spots right next to the river in the woods that are pretty sweet as far as scenery goes," Christopher St. Mars, a student at California University and frequent visitor to Coal Center, said.
If you become tired in Coal Center and decide to leave in search of more adventure, you might decide to exit Coal Center a different way. Adjacent to the bridge entrance, there is an additional entrance/exit with a sign next to it that alludes to an intriguing, but vague mystery about the town.
"There is a sign that says the town is a combination of two other towns, but I had no clue of their existence," said Bill Lamar, a California University graduate student and inhabitant of Coal Center.
Little information about the existence of the two towns that combined to create Coal Center is immediately available.
But the sign and story all add to the intrigue and odd character that the town of Coal Center possesses.
Vincent Cotchen, 20, of Hollsopple, is a junior majoring in English with a journalism concentration at California University of Pennsylvania.
