The community is located 14 miles (23km) east of Harrisburg and is part of the Harrisburg metropolitan area. Hershey has no legal status as an incorporated municipality, and all its municipal services are provided by Derry Township. The population was 13,858 at the 2020 census.[5]
Hershey is also located 75.2 miles (121.0km) southwest of Allentown and 94.5 miles (152.1km) northwest of Philadelphia.
History
Early settlement
In the beginning of its colonization, many of Pennsylvania’s settlers occupied the land not through acquiring the legal rights, but by building on any unclaimed land they found.
In 1681, King Charles II granted a large piece of his North American land holdings along the North Atlantic Ocean coast to William Penn to offset debts he owed Penn's father, the admiral and politician Sir William Penn. Penn's promise of spiritual tolerance and governmental participation brought many immigrants to the region. The first settlers to live near Hershey came from two distinct nationalities, the Scotch-Irish and the German Palatinates.[6]
The Scotch-Irish immigrants left their homelands due to a number of political and economic atrocities by Queen Anne, who persecuted anyone who refused to conform to the Anglican Church. The mountains of Appalachia and the valleys of frontier Pennsylvania drew the attention of these settlers, who were joined by Catholic and Presbyterian Scottish Highlanders who fled due to similar reasons. Naturally, the Scots were clannish, and tended not to mix with the other ethnic groups settling the area at the same time. They were also politically minded, and became involved in local governments quickly after settling in the area.[6]
The Scotch-Irish established several Presbyterian churches as they moved westward across the state, including the Derry Presbyterian Church in Old Derry Village near the head of the Spring Creek. Prominent attendants included the Clarks, Campbells, Blacks, Boyds, Roland Chambers, James Hamilton, James Harris, William McCord, John Mitchell, and Malcom Kar. The land on which the present Derry Church is situated was given by John, Thomas, and Richard Penn, the sons of William Penn and Proprietors of Pennsylvania. The old Session House was built in 1732 and enclosed in glass in 1929 for preservation by Milton S. Hershey.[6]
Old Derry Presbyterian Church
Early Scotch-Irish surnames in the Derry Township area included Hayes, Wilson, Harris, Clark, Wallace, McDonald, Logan, Davidson, Wray, McCallen, and Robinson.[6]
The German Palatinates, later called the "Pennsylvania Dutch," had similarly left their homelands and for a number of reasons, namely political oppression, religious persecution, and economic poverty. Like the Scotch-Irish, the Germans kept to themselves and did not interfere with settlers of other backgrounds. Most of these settlers were farmers, and they flourished in rural areas. Unlike the Scotch-Irish, the Germans were not politically minded, and they had no qualms with the English governing them. A majority of the Germans did not leave Pennsylvania, but stayed to work the rich soil.
Throughout the parts of Pennsylvania that had already been settled, German was the prominently spoken language, surpassing English. This encouraged more German settlers to lay down roots in Pennsylvania more so than in the other colonies.
The Pennsylvania frontier proved dangerous to early settlers. The French and Indian Wars, which decimated the area, forced the construction of a series of forts along the Blue Mountains. During its most famous stage, the Delawares, who aligned with the French, marched down the Blue Mountains to raid the settlers.[6]
At the time of the American Revolution, the settlers of the Derry Township area were enthusiastic about a war for freedom, as evidenced by early protestors and adoption of a list of patriotic resolves on 25 July, 1776, signed by Scotch-Irish and Germans alike.[6]
The land on which Hershey sits on was originally patented by John Carver in the center, James Campbell in the north, and James Galbraith in the northwest. Other communities in the area included Palmstown (now Palmyra), Campbelltown, Millerstown (now Annville), Middletown, and Fredrickstown (now Hummelstown).[6]
Transportation
Transportation from one settlement to the next was essential if either settlement wanted to grow. Turnpike companies were chartered to create improved roads to better facilitate the movement of goods from town to town. Governor Thomas McKean authorized the formation of the Berks and Dauphin Turnpike in 1805 to connect the cities of Reading and Hummelstown.
The Downingtown, Ephrata and Harrisburg Pike, which was commonly known as the Horseshoe Pike, was chartered in 1803 and completed 1819 and ran through Derry.
Education
The Pennsylvania Germans and Scotch-Irish were hesitant to accept the idea of free or public schools. They respected education, but associated it with the church, not the state. The enactment of the Free School Act in 1834, entitled "An Act to Establish a General System of Education by Common Schools" was the first great victory for public schools. In 1893, free textbooks and supplies were provided by state law in all Pennsylvania public schools. The first compulsory school attendance law for children was enacted in 1895, but there were many legal exceptions. Education has since been served by the Derry Township School District.[6]
Founding of Hershey
Using the proceeds from the 1900 sale of the Lancaster Caramel Company, Milton S. Hershey acquired farmland roughly 30 miles (50 km) northwest of Lancaster, near his birthplace in Derry Township. The factory was in the center of a dairy farmland near Derry Church, but with Hershey's support, houses, businesses, churches and a transportation infrastructure accreted around the plant. The area around the factory eventually became known as the company town of Hershey, Pennsylvania.
The town was officially founded in 1903 and completed in 1905, namely for the company’s workers, and their homes had modern amenities such as electricity, indoor plumbing, and central heating. The town had a public trolley system, a free school to educate the children of employees, a free vocational school to train orphaned and underprivileged boys, and later an amusement park, golf courses, community center, hotel, zoo, and a sports area.[7] The purpose was to provide "a perfect American town in a bucolic natural setting, where healthy, right-living, and well-paid workers lived in safe, happy homes."[8]:115
In 1905, Milton Hershey began constructing a theme park for his workers which he named "Hershey Park." It officially opened to the public on Memorial Day, May 30, 1906. Located along the banks of Spring Creek, the park was an ideal spot for picnicking, boating, and canoeing, and featured graceful trees and wooded groves. ZooAmerica, formerly the Hershey Zoo, was added to the park in 1910 and housed Milton Hershey's own animals.[9]
The public trolley system was built in 1908 in the form of a street railway and provided the citizens easy access to other towns and cities in the area. On 15 November 1909, Milton and Catherine Hershey created and endowed the Hershey Industrial School. Hershey, who had no children of his own, sought to provide underprivileged boys with the education and skills needed to succeed in the real world.[6]
Many of the town's structures were built and financed during the Great Depression as part of Hershey's "Great Building Campaign" to provide jobs. This helped transform the town into a major tourist attraction that continues to grow in popularity each year.[9]
From 1930 to 1936, Milton Hershey had spent more than $10 million on building up Hershey, Pennsylvania, but he reduced hours of his employees and stopped paying annual bonuses. In 1937, a strike and occupation at the chocolate factory ended violently when some strikers were severely beaten by a rally loyal to the company.[8]:218[10]
Hershey established The M.S. Hershey Foundation in 1935 as a small, private charitable foundation to provide educational and cultural opportunities for local residents. The foundation supports the Hershey Story Museum, originally the Hershey American Indian Museum, Hershey Gardens, Hershey Theatre, and Hershey Community Archives.
Since the 1960s
In 1903, Hershey consisted of around 700 people. By 1920, the population had increased to 1,500 people. By 1960, the population increased to over 7,000 people.[6]
In 1963, The Milton S. Hershey Medical Center was founded as the site of Pennsylvania State University’s College of Medicine. The College enrolled its first students in 1967 and has conferred 2,182 doctor of medicine degrees. The Hershey Motor Lodge (now the Hershey Lodge) was opened in 1967 and is known as "The Great American Meeting Place."
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Hershey CDP has a total area of 14.4 square miles (37.3km2), of which 14.4 square miles (37.2km2) is land and 0.058 square miles (0.15km2), or 0.41%, is water.[11]
Demographics
2020
As of the 2020 census, there were 13,858 people living there. Hershey was made up of 82.3% White, 5.5% Asian, 2.7% African American, and 1.1% in other categories. 10.7% identify as Hispanic or Latino.[5]
2010
As of the 2010 census, there were 14,257 people living there. Hershey was made up of 83.5% White, 6.6% Asian, 6.2% African American, and 3.5% in other categories. 3.4% identify as Hispanic or Latino.[12]
U.S. Route 422, also known as Chocolate Avenue, runs through the center of Hershey, and U.S. Route 322, also known as Governor Road, passes south of the center. The two highways merge at the western end of Hershey at an interchange with Pennsylvania Route 39. US 422 leads east 43 miles (69km) to Reading, and US 322 leads southeast 28 miles (45km) to Ephrata and west 15 miles (24km) to Harrisburg, the state capital. Route 39 provides access to Hersheypark and Chocolate World, located in the northern part of the CDP, and continues north 6 miles (10km) to Interstate 81 at Skyline View.
From 1944 to 1981, Hershey had its own small general aviation airport on the front lawn of the Milton Hershey Middle School.[14]
Climate
Hershey has a humid continental climate (Dfa), as is very common in Pennsylvania. Temperatures can reach up to 95°F in the summer, and fall below 20°F in the winter. The hardiness zones are 6b and 7a.
The Vista School, state-approved, private school for autistic students aged 3 to 21 years
Milton Hershey School, private philanthropic school founded in 1909 by chocolate magnate Milton Hershey to serve poor children. Currently serves children from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade
Hershey was once home to the Hershey Wildcats of the A-League, a professional soccer team. The team folded after the 2001 season when its owners decided that it would not be successful financially. The Wildcats were named after a popular roller-coaster in Hersheypark. Hershey was also home to the Hershey Impact over the NPSLindoor soccer league.
The community is home to the Hershey Company, which makes the well-known Hershey Bar and Hershey's Kisses and is the parent company of the H. B. Reese Candy Company, manufacturer of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. Hershey's Chocolate World is a factory store and virtual tour ride of the Hershey Company. The original Hershey Chocolate Factory, located downtown alongside Chocolate Avenue, was closed in 2012 due to high operational costs.[17] Although many of the former factory buildings have been demolished, several were converted to modern office space.[18]
Hershey Entertainment and Resorts Company owns and operates Hersheypark, Hersheypark Stadium, and other attractions such as ZooAmerica and Hershey Gardens, and is a major employer of the community and surrounding area. Every October since 1955, the Antique Automobile Club of America have hosted the AACA Eastern Fall Meet here.[19] Usually referred to simply as "Hershey", this is often claimed to be the world's largest automotive swap meet.[20]
The Pennsylvania State Police Academy is located north along Hersheypark Drive. In addition, the Derry Township Police Department is a nationally recognized law enforcement agency.[21]
Hershey is also home to four world-class golf courses, a few museums, The Hotel Hershey, and an opulent spa.[21]
Hersheypark Stadium hosts concerts and sporting events, with a capacity of 30,000. It is also the venue of the Cocoa Bean Game between the Hershey High School and Milton S. Hershey High School football teams.
AACA Museum, operated by the Antique Automobile Club of America
One of Hershey's distinctive kiss-shaped street lamps"Chocolate Ave", celebrating Hershey's heritage
Hershey Park plays a large role in the American Dad episode "May the Best Stan Win" where Stan must fight his cyborg clone for the affection of his wife Francine. The episode includes a musical number called "At Hershey Park" sung by a chorus of back-up singers at the park.
In The Simpsons episode "Homerland", Homer says: "I’ve never prayed to a city in my life and if I did it’d be Hershey, Pennsylvania."[25]
Hershey was also mentioned in The Good Doctor, when it was revealed that Shaun Murphy's (main character) love interest, Lea (played by Paige Spara) is moving to Hershey, Pa. to work in her family's auto body shop.[26]
In the American ensemble procedural series, 9-1-1, Hershey is where siblings Evan (Buck) Buckley, played by Oliver Stark, and Maddie Buckley, played by Jennifer Love Hewitt) spent most of their childhoods. In Season Four, Episode 5, "Buck Begins", it is revealed that the family moved to Hershey from a different Pennsylvania town when Buck was a young baby. The reason for the move was due to the death of their brother Daniel.[citation needed]
Elizabethtown is a borough in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located 18 miles (29 km) southeast of Harrisburg, the state capital. Small factories existed at the turn of the 20th century when the population in 1900 was 1,861. As of the 2020 census, the population of the borough was 11,639. Elizabethtown is commonly referred to in south-central Pennsylvania as E-Town. This nickname is also used for the local college and high school.
The Hershey Company, often called just Hershey or Hershey's, is an American multinational confectionery company headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania, which is also home to Hersheypark and Hershey's Chocolate World. The Hershey Company is one of the largest chocolate manufacturers in the world; it also manufactures baked products, such as cookies and cakes, and sells beverages like milkshakes, as well as other products. The Hershey Company was founded by Milton S. Hershey in 1894 as the Hershey Chocolate Company, originally established as a subsidiary of his Lancaster Caramel Company. The Hershey Trust Company owns a minority stake but retains a majority of the voting power within the company.
Milton Snavely Hershey was an American chocolatier, businessman, and philanthropist.
Dauphin County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 286,401. The county seat is Harrisburg, Pennsylvania's state capital and ninth-most populous city. The county was created on March 4, 1785, from part of Lancaster County and was named after Louis Joseph, Dauphin of France, the first son of King Louis XVI. The county is part of the South Central Pennsylvania region of the state.
Derry Township is a township in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 24,796 at the 2020 census, an increase over the figure of 24,679 tabulated in 2010. Hershey, the site of the well-known Hershey's chocolate factory and its affiliated amusement park, is located within the township. Pennsylvania State University's Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and the Penn State Hershey Children's Hospital are also located on a large tract of land in the township.
Hummelstown is a borough in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 4,535 as of the 2020 census. It is part of the Harrisburg–Carlisle Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Linglestown is a census-designated place (CDP) in Lower Paxton Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded and laid out in 1765 by Thomas Lingle.
Campbelltown is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 3,616 at the 2010 census. It is located east of Hershey at the intersection of U.S. Route 322 and Pennsylvania Route 117 and is located in the Harrisburg metropolitan area.
Palmyra is a borough in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of the Lebanon, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 7,807 at the 2020 census.
Hersheypark is a family theme park in Hershey, Pennsylvania, about fifteen miles (25 km) east of Harrisburg, and 95 miles (155 km) west of Philadelphia. The park was founded in 1906, by Milton S. Hershey as a leisure park for the employees of the Hershey Chocolate Company. It is wholly and privately owned by Hershey Entertainment and Resorts Company. Hersheypark has won several awards, including the Applause Award.
Harry Burnett Reese was an American inventor and businessman known for creating Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, and founding the H. B. Reese Candy Company. In 2009, he was posthumously inducted into the Candy Hall of Fame.
Hershey Entertainment and Resorts Company is a privately held company based in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Milton S. Hershey established HE&R in 1927 to distinguish and separate his chocolate manufacturing company from his other business ventures. All of his non-chocolate producing businesses were established as Hershey Estates, renamed HERCO, Inc. in 1976 and Hershey Entertainment and Resorts Company in 1998.
The Hershey Trust Company is an American trust company based in Hershey, Pennsylvania, established in 1905. Its sole business is the management of several charitable trusts endowed by Milton S. Hershey. The largest is the Milton Hershey School Trust, which has $17.4 billion of assets as of 2021, including Hershey Entertainment and Resorts Company and a controlling stake in The Hershey Company.
Pennsylvania Route 39 (PA 39) is a 17.83-mile-long (28.69 km) state highway located in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, United States. PA 39 runs from North Front Street near Harrisburg east to U.S. Route 322 (US 322) and US 422 near Hummelstown and Hershey. The route passes through the northern and eastern suburbs of Harrisburg and passes by Hersheypark, Giant Center, as well as the primary production factory for The Hershey Company. Between Harrisburg and Manada Hill, it is known as Linglestown Road, from Manada Hill to Hershey as Hershey Road and from Hershey to near Hummelstown and Hershey as Hersheypark Drive. Prior to the establishment of PA 39 in 1937, PA 39, had previously been designated as a route in northeastern Pennsylvania during the 1920s. That designation was deleted when it was renumbered US 11. As a result, PA 39 is one of a few routes which has a set of child routes which are no where near the primary route.
Conestoga is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Conestoga Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 1,163. The Conestoga post office serves ZIP code 17516.
Pennsylvania Route 743 is a north–south state route located in central Pennsylvania. The southern terminus is at PA 441 in Marietta. The northern terminus is at U.S. Route 22 near the East Hanover Township hamlet of Grantville though some signage has it continue north past Interstate 81 (I-81) to PA 443. The route runs north through Lancaster County, passing through Maytown before reaching Elizabethtown. Here, the route has concurrencies with PA 230 and PA 241 and comes to an interchange with the PA 283 freeway. PA 743 continues into Dauphin County and crosses PA 341 before reaching Hershey. In Hershey, the route follows Cocoa Avenue between US 322 and US 422, the latter which is known as Chocolate Avenue. PA 743 follows Park Avenue north past Hersheypark and Hersheypark Drive east before heading north on Laudermilch Road from Hershey to Grantville.
Chocolate Avenue is a street in Hershey, Pennsylvania, that runs past the site of the original Hershey's Chocolate Factory, and is considered to be the main street of the town. It runs northeasterly from Hersheypark Drive to the intersection of Pennsylvania Route 3017, at which point the road crosses into Lebanon County and continues as Main Street in Palmyra Borough. Most of Chocolate Avenue is a segment of U.S. Route 422.
Palmdale is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Derry Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2010 census the population was 1,308. Palmdale is in the Harrisburg–Carlisle metropolitan statistical area.
The history of Hersheypark begins with the founding of the town of Hershey in 1903. Milton Hershey, the owner of the Hershey Chocolate Company, surveyed a nearby area of land, which was to become a leisure park for the employees of his chocolate company. People began visiting the grounds of the future park in 1904 and 1905, while the park's first pavilion was built in the fall of 1905. The park was formally opened on May 30, 1906, when it opened as Hershey Park. The park slowly added rides until 1923, when the first roller coaster, the Wild Cat, was built. From then on, rides were regularly added, except during World War II. The park was redeveloped into Hersheypark in 1970, through a multi-phase project. Since then, it has added ten roller coasters, expanded to over 110 acres, and features many other attractions including shows with sea lions, well-known acts including Weird Al Yankovic and Duff Goldman from Charm City Cakes in the Hersheypark Amphitheater, and a short-lived laser light show.
↑ "PHMC Historical Markers Search"(Searchable database). Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Retrieved January 25, 2014.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Gerlach, Carl E. (July 10, 2024). A History of Derry Township, 1729-1976. Derry Township, Pennsylvania: Derry Township Bicentennial Commission (published 1976).
1 2 D'Antonio, Michael (2006). Hershey: Milton S. Hershey's extraordinary life of wealth, empire, and utopian dreams. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN9780743264105.
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