Hershey is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Derry Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is home to the Hershey Company, which was founded by candy magnate Milton S. Hershey, and Hersheypark, an amusement park.

The community is located 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.U.S. Census Bureau (2020). "2020 Census Interactive Population Search PA – Hershey CDP." Retrieved November 11, 2021.

Hershey is also located north of Baltimore, Maryland, southwest of Allentown and 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 Scot-Irish and the German Palatinates.

The Scottish-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.

The Scottish-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.

Early Scottish-Irish surnames in the Derry Township area included Hayes, Wilson, Harris, Clark, Wallace, McDonald, Logan, Davidson, Wray, McCallen, and Robinson.

The German Palatinates, later called the "Pennsylvania Dutch," had similarly left their homelands for a number of reasons, namely political oppression, religious persecution, and economic poverty. Like the Scottish-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 Scottish-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.

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 July 25, 1776, signed by Scottish-Irish and Germans alike.

The land on which Hershey sits was originally patented by James Campbell in the north (in 1741) and James Galbraith in the northwest (in 1744). The center of Hershey was warranted and surveyed to John Carver (in 1761), but that tract of land wasn't patented until April 18, 1878. It was patented by John Snyder, Peter Shenk, Philip Brown, John Bordner, David Lehman, David K. Landis, Anthony Greiner, and Jonas Allwine.

Other communities in the area included Palmstown (now Palmyra), Campbelltown, Millerstown (now Annville), Middletown, and Fredrickstown (now Hummelstown).

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 in 1819, and ran through Derry.

Education The Pennsylvania Germans and Scottish-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.

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. 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."

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.

The public trolley system was built in 1908 in the form of a street railway and provided the citizens with 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, now the Milton Hershey 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.

Milton S. Hershey established Hershey Entertainment and Resorts as Hershey Estates in 1927 to distinguish his chocolate manufacturing company from his other business ventures. The Pennsylvania State Police Academy was also opened in Hershey the same year.

Growth and tourism 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.

Hershey's projects include:

Hershey Country Club, opened 1930 The Hotel Hershey, opened May 1933 Hershey Theatre, opened September 1933 Hersheypark Arena, opened 1936 Hersheypark Stadium, opened May 1939

From 1930 to 1936, Milton Hershey had spent more than $10 million on building up Hershey, Pennsylvania, but he reduced the 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.

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 had increased to over 7,000 people.

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."

Geography Hershey is located in southeastern Dauphin County, in the center and eastern parts of Derry Township. It is bordered to the east by Palmdale (also in Derry Township) and by Campbelltown (in South Londonderry Township, Lebanon County). To the west is the borough of Hummelstown. Over half the population of Derry Township lives within the Hershey CDP.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Hershey CDP has a total area of , of which is land and , or 0.41%, is water.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Hershey had a population of 13,858. The median age was 39.1 years. 18.6% of residents were under the age of 18 and 18.8% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 91.3 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 89.6 males age 18 and over.

95.1% of residents lived in urban areas, while 4.9% lived in rural areas.

There were 5,550 households in Hershey, of which 25.0% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 43.6% were married-couple households, 19.0% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 31.8% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 36.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 5,968 housing units, of which 7.0% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.9% and the rental vacancy rate was 6.0%.

+ Racial composition as of the 2020 census Race Number Percent White 10,260 74.0% Black or African American 791 5.7% American Indian and Alaska Native 22 0.2% Asian 1,061 7.7% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 11 0.1% Some other race 867 6.3% Two or more races 846 6.1% Hispanic or Latino (of any race) 1,547 11.2%

2010 census 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. Transportation