By 1980, Hershey Entertainment & Resorts Company (HE&R) had bought 26 of the 27 properties on West Derry Road for its northward expansion. Only one property remained, blocking the path of the future Pioneer Frontier, 23 West Derry Road, owned by Jacob and Verna Gerhart.
In the early 1970s, HE&R began buying houses along West Derry Road – then the northern border of Hersheypark. The goal was to eventually expand the park north. The 26th property purchased – 71 and 73 West Derry Road, the Lingle House – was sold to HE&R on May 2, 1980. Each half was paid $57,500 for a total of $115,000. This left 23 West Derry Road – the Gerhart House – as the last house “standing” (the Lingle House was not torn down).
A year and three months later, on July 31, 1981, the Gerharts sold their residence, 23 West Derry Road, for $139,000. In 1961, they had purchased the property for $8,500. The Gerharts turned a $130,500 profit. (Adjusted for inflation from 1961 to 1981, they turned a $104,546.67 profit.)
This is the story about how the Gerhart House came to be Inside Hersheypark.
Gerharts Knew Real Estate
The Gerharts also owned other property. They owned land in Derry Gardens, south of Hershey in the Sand Hills. They also owned and sold properties in East Hanover Township.
Even in 1979, the Gerharts advertised renting one half of 23 West Derry Road. The Gerharts understood the value of real estate.
They owned 23 West Derry Road for twenty years, maintaining their ownership for another year and three months after the Lingle families sold their duplex. For context, when Geno Cialone, of 39 West Derry Road, sold his property in 1976 to HE&R, he received $68,500. The Gerharts more than doubled what Cialone was paid – they made $70,500 more.
Growing Hersheypark
In the 1970s, Hershey Entertainment & Resorts Company (HE&R) – owner of Hersheypark – started buying the houses along the northern edge of the park. The ultimate goal was to expand park north into the empty fields beyond the houses and up to Hersheypark Drive (then known as Airport Road).
There was no rush for the park to expand into that area; the main focus of their efforts from 1971 to 1977 would be on the first few phases of the R. Duell & Associates (RDA) plan for Hersheypark. Save building a few attractions along the what would become old Park Boulevard in 1972, there was no intent to build into the fields beyond West Derry Road.
On West Derry Road were 27 residences, some which were duplexes with deeds for each half of the duplex. In total, 6 of the 27 residences were sold to the company prior to the 1970s (one was sold in 1937!). Another 10 were sold in 1970, with another 8 being sold between 1974 and 1976. This left three properties between two houses – 71 and 73 West Derry Road and 23 West Derry Road.
What changed between 1976 and 1981?
Hersheypark changed. Although many elements of the original RDA plan were discarded, the park committed to building one major roller coaster from those designs: the sooperdooperLooper. When this new coaster opened in 1977, it was an instant hit, making the 1977 season one of the most successful in the park’s history to that point. Nevertheless, Hersheypark management distanced themselves from the RDA plan, seeking an identity more distinctively suited to Hersheypark than simply replicating “Disneyland for the northeast”.
By 1979, HE&R was investigating expanding the park north, across West Derry Road. In the following year, this came to fruition as the park expanded by adding two new rides, Pirat and Cyclops. They also relocated the Dry Gulch Railroad station, giving it an even more awkward shape than a typical figure-8 layout.
The park needed the land where the Gerhart House was more than ever after the 1980 expansion. That gave the Gerharts an advantage, and they made the best of it.
Hersheypark moves forward
With the Gerhart House selling in July 1981, the park was able to start planning a new theme region based off the frontier – something that was proposed in the RDA plan – but instead of it being colonial frontier, it would be pioneer frontier. The area they were looking to develop was named the Old West.
The house remained in place for a time while the park planned for the future. Various ideas were considered. Converting the Dry Gulch Railroad into an oval loop was always planned. This meant the former Gerhart home wasn’t long for the park, but the garage in the back of the house was. It just happened to be the right size for storing the Dry Gulch Railroad trains.
The route of the railroad was aligned with the garage so transfer spurs could be built connecting the two-door garage with the railroad. The Engine House began being used in 1984.
![2017-07-08 Dry Gulch Engine House [23 West Derry Road garage]](https://i0.wp.com/amusementparkives.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/2017-07-08-dry-gulch-engine-house-23-west-derry-road-garage.jpg?resize=745%2C700&ssl=1)
Dry Gulch Railroad Engine House in 2017.
In 1985, the Old West became Pioneer Frontier and Dry Gulch served as one of the new region’s anchor rides.
Hersheypark souvenir keychain commemorating the expansion of Pioneer Frontier in 1985.
Over time, Dry Gulch became less of an anchor ride as bigger rides came in, such as Canyon River Rapids (1987), Storm Runner (2004) and Fahrenheit (2008). The engine house lasted through the end of the 2022 season. The following year, the engine house was replaced by a new structure which was larger than the old garage. This ended the “Gerhart era” of Dry Gulch Railroad.
Village of Spring Creek
In 1849, Martin L. Nissley laid out a plan of 8 lots on the Derry Road which was on the southern border of the property he owned. This plan was called the Village of Spring Creek. Houses were constructed in the new village and routinely bought and sold throughout the second half of the 19th Century. When Milton S. Hershey came around to build his new chocolate factory and build a town around it, one property he purchased ended up being what became 23 West Derry Road.
On April 8, 1903, Milton S. Hershey and his wife Catherine Hershey personally purchased, for $900, part of the property of 15 West Derry Road. Two years later, on August 31, 1905, Hershey sold the land to John H. Gordon for $1500. Gordon sold what was now called 23 West Derry Road to the Letterman family, who owned the property from 1922 to 1961 when the Gerharts purchased the property.
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