Hummelstown is a borough in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 4,360 as of the 2000 census. It is part of the Harrisburg–Carlisle Metropolitan Statistical Area. Fredrickstown was the original village of present-day Hummelstown; it was established in 1762.[2] The town is currently 247 years old. The borough's current mayor is Bradley Miller. Hummelstown is a Tree City; (List of Tree Cities USA). Hummelstown is in District 15 of the Pennsylvania Senate. Hummelstown is centrally located between both Harrisburg and Hershey; making it a common tourist drive-through, stopping point, or resting area. With numerous businesses, shops, restaurants, hotels, gas stations, and bars designed to capitalize on the amount of tourist travel through the small town. Coming into Hummelstown from Hershey, you can take Main Street through Hummelstown straight onto U.S. 322 which will lead directly into Harrisburg - making it a one-road town for many travelers looking to get from Hershey to Harrisburg.
History
The original Parish House, now the Hummelstown Historical Society Library & Museum.
Hummelstown was founded as Fredrickstown in 1762 by two Germans, Frederick and Rosina Hummel.[2] They purchased the land for 200 pounds sterling – then divided the area into building lots, which were sold to German settlers. During the mid 19th century, the Union Canal at Swatara Creek was an important factor in the development of the local economy, promoting trade and transportation.
The town was located at the Burks-Dauphin Turnpike a toll road, later it was served by the Union Canal. [3]. The Union Canal which paralleled the Swatara Creek bordering the north and the west, was opened in 1827. The Lebanon Valley Railroad arrived in 1858. This brought about many jobs of stone cutting and shipyard work. This further helped facilitate the Hummelstown Brownstone Company which became the leading employer of Hummelstown residents. [4].
The Hummelstown Brownstone Company mined Hummelstown brownstone at its quarries from 1867 until 1929. These operations provided much growth and stability to the town. The company was the largest producer of brownstone on the East Coast.
Throughout the history of the town it has been a common stopping point for people - predominantly tourists - traveling to either neighboring Harrisburg or Hershey. Harrisburg being the capital of Pennsylvania, and Hershey being the home of Hershey Foods, HersheyPark, Chocolate World, and a host of other events, happenings, and tourist related buildings. At various times Hummelstown has been as close as twenty miles from up towards ten different professional sports teams, some such being the Harrisburg Heat, Hershey Impact, Hershey Bears, Harrisburg Hammerheads, Hershey Wildcats, Harrisburg City Islanders, etc, etc, etc. Due to this often times the various championship teams parade, drive through, and do hosting and trophy related events in Hummelstown as well. The Calder Cup has had several ceremonies conducted in Hummelstown over the years.
Hummelstown has often times been listed in the top 500 towns to live in, not only in America, but in the entire North America. The highest ranking its ever received was 61st "Best Town to Live in America".
The borough is planning to celebrate its semiquincentennial or 250 year anniversary in 2012.
The Hummelstown Historical Society building is located North Rosanna St. and North Alley St (there is no street number). It was the original building for the Zion Lutheran Church; which is now the main brownstone church on Main Street of Hummelstown, in 1815. This removed the initial log structure used for the church built in the 1750's. The Hummelstown Historical Society has a library, museum, genealogy section, and hosts numerous Native American relics, such as arrowheads, bones, and pottery. [5].
Hummelstown is within a thirty-minute drive of several colleges and educational institutions; such as HACC, LVC, Penn State Harrisburg, YTI, Kepler Career Institute, and VoTech.
A decent sized amount of the population of Hummelstown have jobs in Derry Township, mainly through the Hershey Chocolate Factory or Hershey's Food Company and subsidiaries such as the Hershey Bears, the GIANT Center, Hershey's Chocolate World, Hershey Hotel and other Hershey's Food owned companies and properties.
Geography
Hummelstown is located at 40°15′55″N 076°42′30″W / 40.26528°N 76.70833°W / 40.26528; -76.70833 (40.265168, -76.710995) at an elevation of 397 feet above sea level.[1]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 1.4 square miles (3.6 km²).1.4 square miles (3.5 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (3.57%) is water.
Streams
Ponds
There is one unnamed pond by the Hummel Nature Trail east of the 7-11 at the end of town next to the Tee Ball baseball field.
Roadway
Highways
A few highways run through Hummelstown; such as U.S. Route 322 which by Hummelstown is the Hummelstown Bypass as well as U.S. Route 422. U.S. Routes 39, 22, and 11 are all nearby Hummelstown. Hummelstown main street ends at the Boro Bar and Walton Avenue (previously main street) turns into and becomes U.S. Route 39 / Hersheypark Road. At the west end of Hummelstown, the exit leaving Hummelstown - Fiddlers Elbow connects to U.S. Route 283.
Other Major Roads
The two main roads of Hummelstown is Main Street and South Hanover Street. Main Street of Hummelstown once leaving Hummelstown west joins into U.S. Route 322 after Hoss's and before Murphy's. Going east Main Street turns into U.S. Route 39 at what part is known as Hersheypark Road in Derry Township.
South Hanover street is longer. Going north South Hanover street once crossing underneath the bridge at the end of town turns into Hoernerstown Road and Pleasentview Avenue; eventually ending in Union Deposit road. Going south, South Hanover street ends just past the Lower Dauphin High School when it crosses the bridge over U.S. Route 322. There it becomes Derry Township and is called Middletown Road. Once past the development and area beyond the Turkey Hill and the plant nursery it becomes a part of Middletown in which case it is then known as Vine Street. The road ends at a juncture with E. Main Street of Middletown.
Demographics
As of the census[7] of 2000, there were 4,360 people, 1,879 households, and 1,200 families residing in the borough. The population density was 3,233.6 people per square mile (1,247.0/km²). There were 1,953 housing units at an average density of 1,448.4/sq mi (558.6/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 97.02% White, 0.32% African American, 0.02% Native American, 1.06% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 0.67% from other races, and 0.85% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.51% of the population.
There were 1,879 households out of which 29.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.1% were married couples living together, 10.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.1% were non-families. 31.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.91.
In the borough the population was spread out with 23.6% under the age of 18, 7.4% from 18 to 24, 32.0% from 25 to 44, 21.1% from 45 to 64, and 15.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 95.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.4 males.
The median income for a household in the borough was $41,625, and the median income for a family was $50,572. Males had a median income of $36,500 versus $27,547 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $21,394. About 4.2% of families and 6.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.3% of those under age 18 and 7.2% of those age 65 or over.
Money Magazine (via their website and magazine) lists the median household income for Hummelstown to be $60,666 as of 2005, compared to the average in the United States which is $68,053 in 2005. The sales tax is 6.00%, compared to that of 6.77% nation-wide. The median house price is $154,815 compared to that of the nation average of $315,351.[8]
In 2005, Hummelstown was named the 61st best town in the United States to live in, as voted on by The New York Times in association with Time, Life, and several other high-profile magazines on Money Magazine's website.[9]
Arts and culture
Annual cultural events
- The Lollipop Drop – New Year's Eve
- Movie Nights – at the Herbert A. Schaffner Memorial Park
- Taste of Hummelstown – food sampling by restaurants along the Main Street
- The Hummelstown Craftsfair – a craft fair held each September
- Trick or Treat - the Thursday closest (before) Halloween is the night used for the annual Trick or Treat. Houses with their porchlight on from 6PM until 8PM are houses participating.
Museums and other points of interest
Hummelstown has a historical society constructed with Hummelstown brownstone. The Hummelstown Historical Society is both a museum and visitor center.
The town is home to a historical landmark, the Warwick Hotel, which is still a tavern reminiscent of its pre-Revolutionary War days. George Washington stayed a night there and drank from its bar.
Indian Echo Caverns is one of the main attractions near Hummelstown. The caverns were originally used by the Susquehannock tribe, who lived and hunted in the nearby area until they vanished in the 1670s; it opened to the public in 1929.
The shortline operator Middletown and Hummelstown Railroad operates heritage and freight service between its namesake towns of Middletown, Pennsylvania and just south of Hummelstown proper, stopping in front of the Indian Echo Caverns entrance. The Hummelstown Borough Council has expressed concern around quality of life issues (noise, odor, safety) with having more trains passing through town. As such, trains stop just south of the busy four-lane U.S. Route 322 grade crossing on a regular basis, and are allowed to enter town exactly 12 times per year.[10] Interestingly, Norfolk Southern's busy Harrisburg Line transverses the northern section of Hummelstown, with up to 20 lengthly freight trains passing through daily.
In The Town
In the town there is a legion, a VFW, a boro office building, and a post office. The legion and the post office are located on Walton Avenue (main street). The VFW and the boro office building are located on South Hannover street.
The town has numerous significant businesses, such as Chrysler, My Tea S'pot, the Chatterbox, The Sun, Trevz Funeral Home, the Buse Family Funeral Home, 7-11, Warwick's Bed and Breakfast, JoJo's Pizza, M&T Bank, Metro Bank, Sheetz, The Boro Bar, Chicks Bar, and numerous other offices, important buildings, businesses, and jobs, as well as use to have Omnidon's, located on Main Street.
The town has several bars; including: Warwick's Bed and Breakfast, The Boro Bar, Chicks, and before the explosion that destroyed the building - Rosie's East End.
The town also has several churches, most located on Main Street.
Parks and recreation
The Pavilion at Herbert A. Schaffner Park.
Several parks are located throughout the borough:[11]
The playground at Schaffner Park, the former Borough Park.
- Barry E. Mehaffie Memorial Park (formerly West End Park)
- Herbert A. Schaffner Memorial Park (formerly Borough Park)
- Hummel Nature Trail
- Marion F. Alexander Memorial Park
Education
The borough is located within the Lower Dauphin School District. Lower Dauphin High School, Lower Dauphin Middle School, Nye Elementary School, and the Price Building are located in the community. The school district's administration building is also located in Hummelstown.
The Lower Dauphin High School Falcons logo.
Media
Hummelstown is home to The Sun newspaper, which covers Hummelstown, Hershey, and the lower Dauphin County area. In early 2008, The Sun acquired the subscribers of the now-defunct Hershey Chronicle newspaper [12] making The Sun the largest paid-circulation weekly in Dauphin County. The Sun began in 1871. [13].
List of Newspapers Based Around Hummelstown
A (incomplete) list of newspapers that are based around the Hummelstown area and covers Hummelstown current events:
Folklore
Hummelstown has a rich folklore, both of the town and especially concerning the local area. There is a great history to the area, with its fields, creek, and the caves nearby. The biggest case of folklore around the town is the case of the sister and brother duo of William (Amos) Wilson and Elizabeth (Harriot) Wilson. Or as William would later be known as - The Pennsylvania Hermit. The Indian Echo Caverns uses the folklore of William to help attract tourists.
Notable natives and residents
Native Americans
There were several Native American tribes located around Hummelstown. The Susquehannocks, the Iroquois, and several smaller tribes that would later be conquered or assimilated into the Iroquois.
See also
Notes and references
External links
