Hershey, Pennsylvania

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.

Hershey
Census-designated place
Hershey Kiss-shaped street lamps in downtown Hershey
Hershey Kiss-shaped street lamps in downtown Hershey
Motto: 
The Sweetest Place on Earth[1]
Location in Dauphin County and the U.S. state of Pennsylvania.
Location in Dauphin County and the U.S. state of Pennsylvania.
Hershey is located in Pennsylvania
Hershey
Hershey
Hershey is located in the United States
Hershey
Hershey
Coordinates: 40°16′42″N 76°39′4″W
CountryUnited States
StatePennsylvania
CountyDauphin
TownshipDerry
Area
[2]
 • Total14.42 sq mi (37.34 km2)
 • Land14.30 sq mi (37.03 km2)
 • Water0.12 sq mi (0.30 km2)
Elevation
411 ft (125 m)
Population
 (2020)[3]
 • Total13,858
 • Density969.23/sq mi (374.23/km2)
Time zoneUTC−5 (Eastern (EST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC−4 (EDT)
ZIP Code
17033
Area code717
FIPS code34-71385
GNIS feature ID1176895
DesignatedMarch 2, 2003[4]

The community is located 14 miles (23 km) 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 located 75.2 miles (121.0 km) southwest of Allentown, 14.7 miles (23.7 km) east of Harrisburg, and 94.5 miles (152.1 km) northwest of Philadelphia.

History

The town was founded by Hershey in 1903 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.[6]

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."[7]

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 is within the Hershey CDP.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Hershey CDP has a total area of 14.4 square miles (37.3 km2), of which 14.4 square miles (37.2 km2) is land and 0.058 square miles (0.15 km2), or 0.41%, is water.[8]

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.[9]

Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
200012,771—
201014,25711.6%
202013,858−2.8%
U.S. Decennial Census[10][3]

Transportation

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 (69 km) to Reading, and US 322 leads southeast 28 miles (45 km) to Ephrata and west 15 miles (24 km) 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 (10 km) to Interstate 81 at Skyline View.

Hershey is accessible via Harrisburg International Airport, approximately 12 miles (19 km) to the southwest. Amtrak's Keystone Service provides frequent rail service to the nearby towns of Middletown (9 miles), Harrisburg (13 miles) and Elizabethtown Amtrak Station (11 miles), as well as its eastern terminus in Philadelphia (95 miles). CAT and LT (formerly known as COLT) provide bus service.

From 1944 to 1981, Hershey had its own small general aviation airport on the front lawn of the Milton Hershey Middle School.[11]

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.

Climate data for Hershey, Pennsylvania
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °F (°C) 36
(2)		 40
(4)		 44
(7)		 62
(17)		 71
(22)		 80
(27)		 84
(29)		 82
(28)		 75
(24)		 64
(18)		 52
(11)		 40
(4)		 61
(16)
Average low °F (°C) 20
(−7)		 23
(−5)		 29
(−2)		 39
(4)		 48
(9)		 58
(14)		 62
(17)		 61
(16)		 53
(12)		 42
(6)		 33
(1)		 25
(−4)		 41
(5)
Average precipitation inches (mm) 2.96
(75)		 2.77
(70)		 3.34
(85)		 3.68
(93)		 4.10
(104)		 4.15
(105)		 4.56
(116)		 3.64
(92)		 3.93
(100)		 3.49
(89)		 3.49
(89)		 3.34
(85)		 43.45
(1,103)
Source: [12]

Education

Sports
Club League Venue Established Championships won
Hershey Bears AHL, Ice hockey Giant Center 1932 12
Hershey FC NPSL, Soccer Hersheypark Stadium

Hershey High School

 2013 0

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 NPSL indoor soccer league.

National Basketball Association player Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 points for the Philadelphia Warriors in a regular season game played at Hersheypark Arena in 1962; his effort remains a single-game record for the league.

Elizabethtown College hosted the 2015 NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships at the Giant Center.

Christian Pulisic, the American soccer player who plays for AC Milan of Italy’s Serie A and the United States men's national soccer team, is from Hershey.[13]

Points of interest
The Hershey Company, August 1976

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 along Chocolate Avenue, was closed in 2012 due to high operational costs.[14] Although many of the former factory buildings have been demolished, several were converted to modern office space.[15]

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.[16] Usually referred to simply as "Hershey", this is often claimed to be the world's largest automotive swap meet.[17]

The Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and the Milton Hershey School for underprivileged youth are also located in Hershey.

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.[18]

Hershey is also home to four world-class golf courses, a few museums, The Hotel Hershey, and an opulent spa.[18]

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.

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. There is even a musical number called "At Hershey Park" sung by a chorus of back-up singers at the park.

In Mad Men, Donald Draper was raised in a brothel in Hershey.[21]

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."[22]

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.[23]

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. It is revealed in episode 4x05: “Buck Begins” 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).[24]

Notable people

References
  1. "Experience Hershey, PA". Hershey Entertainment & Resorts. Retrieved December 22, 2015.
  2. "ArcGIS REST Services Directory". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
  3. "Census Population API". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
  4. "PHMC Historical Markers Search" (Searchable database). Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Retrieved January 25, 2014.
  5. U.S. Census Bureau (2020). "2020 Census Interactive Population Search PA – Hershey CDP." Retrieved November 11, 2021.
  6. Day, Anthony (2006). "Tasty morsels from the life of a candy man". baltimoresun.com.
  7. D'Antonio, Michael (2006). Hershey : Milton S. Hershey's extraordinary life of wealth, empire, and utopian dreams. New York: Simon & Schuster. p. 115. ISBN 9780743264105.
  8. "Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Hershey CDP, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania". U.S. Census Bureau, American Factfinder. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved December 22, 2015.
  9. "2010 Census Interactive Population Search PA – Hershey CDP". U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on December 10, 2014. Retrieved December 10, 2014.
  10. "United States Census Bureau QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved February 26, 2022.
  11. URL last accessed October 28, 2015.
  12. "Monthly Averages for Hershey, PA". Weather.com. Retrieved December 29, 2011.
  13. "Men's national team: Christian Pulisic". United States Soccer Federation. Retrieved July 30, 2018.
  14. "Former CEO says Hershey Co. did all it could to save the old factory". PennLive.com. November 8, 2012.
  15. Malawskey, Nick (August 7, 2015). "Old is new again at former Hershey factory". PennLive.com. PA Media Group. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
  16. "Meet History". Hershey, PA: Antoque Automobile Club of America. Archived from the original on October 24, 2018.
  17. Gross, Ken (October 22, 2015). "Treasure Hunting at Hershey, the World's Largest Old-Car Swap Meet". Car and Driver. Archived from the original on October 14, 2019.
  18. "Area Information". Retrieved June 25, 2020.
  19. "Hershey Area Playhouse".
  20. "Parks and Recreation".
  21. Emily VanDerWerff (June 24, 2013). "S6/E13: In Care Of". AVClub.
  22. "D'OH MERLAND". The Simpsons Tapped Out Addicts. September 30, 2013.
  23. "Hershey is in tonight's 'The Good Doctor' episode". PennLive.com. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
  24. {{|url=https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/9-1-1_(TV_series)webpage=Wikipedia.org-9-1-1}}
  25. "Hershey, Milton Snavely; 1857-1945". Hershey Community Archives. Archived from the original on December 27, 2017. Retrieved December 26, 2017.
  26. Wicker, Jewel (November 17, 2015). "Hershey-native Ocean Blue band rewards Chameleon Club, local fans with show celebrating 25-year career". pennlive.com. Retrieved April 16, 2019.
  27. "Snickers Surging to Top of Global Candy Race". Ad Age. September 20, 2012. Retrieved December 26, 2017.
  28. "The H.B. Reese Candy Company Story". BradReeseCom. Lebanon Daily News. June 9, 1956. Retrieved December 26, 2017.
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