In the Pioneer Frontier region of Hersheypark is Storm Runner and Jolly Rancher Remix, two of the park’s roller coasters. They are located on opposite sides of the same midway that leads from there to Pioneer Frontier Food Court and then to Frontier Flyers. If it weren’t for Dry Gulch Railroad’s station being built where it was, you might realize that the midway would continue all the way to the edge of the park adjacent to Chick-fil-A.
If you look at Google Maps, you may see that the midway could continue outside of the park fence, along Historic Hersheypark Arena and down to Hershey’s Chocolatetown. If you look even closer, you may see that the path would continue straight through Chocolatetown and continue along Chocolate World Way, leading to the Giant Center. This article is about how a village and it’s land became incorporated inside Hersheypark.
The Derry Road
This midway that stretches from Storm Runner to Giant Center used to be a public road known as West Derry Road. The road went from Hockersville Road in the west to Park Avenue in the east, where it met East Derry Road. The entire Derry Road is actually a very old road, dating back to the 1700s (and possibly earlier). The road stretched from Harrisburg in the west, to Reading in the East. In the 1810s – in Dauphin County – it was bypassed by the Berks and Dauphin Turnpike. Today that turnpike (in Hershey) is known as Chocolate Avenue.
Along the Derry Road were a few large properties owned by land patent holders. These land patents were broken up into smaller parcels of land hundreds of acres in size which were sold off via deeds. These properties were slowly divided up as more people moved into the area after the American Revolution.
By the 1840s, one of the better known families in the area, the Nissley’s, owned quite a lot of land in Derry Township. This included land along Derry Road. By 1849, Martin L. Nissley was the owner of land stretching from the Derry Road to the hill where The Hotel Hershey is in the north, and to Gravel Hill Road (Park Avenue) in the east. Nissley needed to generate more money, so he decided to create a new village along the Derry Road in order to sell some property.
Village of Spring Creek
In 1850, the Village of Spring Creek was established along Derry Road west of Derry Church. The village was laid out in a plan submitted to Derry Township by Martin Nissley (sadly the plan has been lost, which is fairly common for the time). The village was subdivided into 8 lots on the north side of the Derry Road, which he renamed Main Street. This is the intersection can be seen in the image below of Derry or Spring Creek.
The Village of Spring Creek existed from the 1850s to the 1910s. By the 1870s, Main Street had been renamed Spring Creek Road and the village sometimes went by the name Springville. The name West Derry Road did not come about until sometime after the 1920s. For the purposes of clarity, the road will be referred to as West Derry Road through the rest of the article.
Nearby Spring Creek
The south side of West Derry Road already had a few houses on them. They were not laid out in any organized way. These few houses were built in the 1810s to 1840s. Modern house numbers were even numbers and ranged from 10 West Derry Road to 24 West Derry Road.
In the 1870s, John Nissley bought some of the old Martin Nissley property. He built a barn on the north side of West Derry Road.
Hershey era
On March 2, 1903, Milton S. Hershey purchased a home on West Derry Road, later known as 51 and 53 West Derry Road. This property was one half of Lot 8 of the Village of Spring Creek. This was the first property on West Derry Road Hershey acquired. In 1905, the unincorporated town of Hershey was established. In 1906, Hershey purchase the John Nissley property that was adjacent to the Village, which was incorporated inside Hersheypark. This land includes anything north of Spring Creek from Wave Swinger and sooperdooperLooper to Storm Runner and Frontier Flyers.
By the 1910, the town of Hershey was prosperous on the strong success of the Hershey Chocolate Company. The growing town quickly dominated the area, swallowing up nearby villages such as Derry Church, Swatara Station, and of course, Spring Creek.
The houses that were part of the Village of Spring Creek gained modern addresses by the 1920s. They were odd numbers and ranged from 7 West Derry Road to 55 West Derry Road. Any houses beyond that were not part of the village.
The Hershey Improvement Company began building houses West Derry Road west of the village. House addresses on the north side ranged from 71 and 73 West Derry Road to 117 West Derry Road. These houses were sold to homeowners, while 117 West Derry Road was a rental home. South side homes were rented instead of being sold. They ranged from 20 West Derry Road to 126 West Derry Road.
In 1915, Hershey constructed the Hershey Convention Center. Today, it is called the Hershey Ice Palace and had an address of 248 West Derry Road.
The Nissley barn, acquired by Milton Hershey in 1906, was converted into apartments in the early 1930s. Named Parkside Apartments, the building existed into the mid-1980s. It’s address was [Apartment number] Parkside Apartments, Hershey so it did not have a proper West Derry Road address.
In 1936, Hershey Estates constructed Historic Hersheypark Arena, with an address of 136 West Derry Road.
Several houses existed further down West Derry Road, in what is today part of the Hersheypark Complex parking lot. These addresses ranged from 30 to 40 Old Derry Road, as opposed to West Derry Road.
The closure of West Derry Road
In 1972, Hershey Estates proposed rerouting and closing parts of Park Boulevard and West Derry Road. Park Boulevard was proposed to be relocated on a segment of West Derry Road. This change allowed Park Boulevard to curve and end at Hersheypark Drive. The new end connected at an intersection with Pennsylvania Route 39. The closure aided Hersheypark constructing their new entrance of the park. A section of old Park Boulevard, located north of West Derry Road, was transformed into Tram Circle. It also became the tram spine for Hersheypark’s new tram service.
The proposal was approved by the Derry Township Board of Supervisors.
Between 1973 and 1981, the remaining homes on West Derry Road were sold to Hershey Estates / HERCO, Inc. / Hershey Entertainment & Resort Company. The last home was the Gerhart house, 23 West Derry Road, sold in 1981.
There is only one house in Hersheypark that still exists today that was on West Derry Road: The Lingle House.
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