I didn't create Local Lore because I wanted another tourism app.
I created it because I was tired of watching incredible places — and the stories that shaped them — go unnoticed.
I'm Candice Cotterman, a lifelong Columbia County resident, a disabled U.S. Army veteran, and a full-time caregiver.
Local Lore is my way of helping preserve the places that shaped ours.
Local Lore started with a simple frustration: this county is full of history, and almost none of it is where you'd actually encounter it.
Every year thousands of people come here — for the University, for the Fair, for a weekend — park once, see one street, and leave. Not because there's nothing else. Because nothing is there to help guide them.
Local Lore LLC is a woman-owned, veteran-owned Pennsylvania company. It is not a tourism board project and not a chain product — the tours are researched here, narrated here, and updated by someone who will run into you at the grocery store if they're wrong.
“Bloomsburg's greatest asset is its people, stories, and sense of community. It deserves to be easier to find.”
The Mission
Good for the people visiting.
Good for the county.
Visitors stay longer
Someone with a route in their pocket explores more of the county instead of passing through it.
Accessibility comes first
Designed so more people — including seniors, families, and visitors with disabilities — can explore and experience communities at their own pace.
History gets preserved
Stories recorded and told in the place they actually happened — Market Square, the Town Fountain, the Courthouse steps.
Local business gets found
Digital discovery for the shops and kitchens that have only ever had word of mouth. Every local business gets a free listing.
Events fill up
First Fridays, parades, festivals, and seasonal attractions across Columbia County — in one place people actually check.
Community pride, out loud
Most of our early users live here. Learning the town you already live in turns out to be the point.
Why It's Built This Way
The caregiving shaped every design decision.
Self-paced, always
Start when you want, stop when you want, finish next weekend. No group to keep up with and no clock.
Accessible by design
Designed so more people — including seniors, families, and visitors with disabilities — can explore and experience communities at their own pace.
Free, no account
A family outing shouldn't require a ticket or a sign-up. Open it and go; an account is optional.