Hummelstown Walking Tour Brochure.indd

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138 East Main Street and 142 East Main Street
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4 East Main Street on the Square
E. MAIN STREET
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The Alberta Imboden Store and the Brightbill House are owned by the
Hummelstown Area Historical Society. After a fire in 1912, the Imboden
Store was rebuilt and retains that appearance today. The Brightbill House
was also built at the turn of the 20th Century. Both houses have front porches.
Previously, frugal German and English residents utilized the entire lots for
homes, barns, outhouses, smokehouses, summer kitchens, chicken coops,
and gardens. Industrialization and labor saving devices allowed families
time to build houses with front porches on which they could sit and visit
with passers-by and neighbors.
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1) on Rosanna Street, Home of the Hummelstown Area Historical Society.
Please return to the Parish House as your last stop on the tour. The Parish House and Hummel Cemetery were
purchased by the Historical Society in 2012. For information, visit www.hummelstownhistoricalsociety.org.
The Warwick Hotel is another tavern on Main Street and to this day
demonstrates the importance of these businesses throughout Hummelstown’s
history. The structure was built in the early 1800s. Travelers in carriages,
wagons and stage coaches stopped here on their travels between Philadelphia
and Harrisburg. One side was reserved as a ladies parlor; the other side was
a barroom visited by men. The Warwick survived Prohibition in the 1920s,
and resumed business as a tavern by 1933.
32 West Main Street
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Your tour begins at the 1815 Parish House (
12 West Main Street
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E. Long Alley
S. WATER STREET
The Keystone Hotel, now an apartment building, was built in 1839 by
George Fox after the inn that his father, John Fox, owned had burned. His
name and date appear on the brownstone step leading into the center hall of
the hotel. The hotel was popular as a resting stop for travelers on the Reading
to Harrisburg turnpike. The town’s first telephone was installed in the hotel
in 1901. The hotel hosted social gatherings, served as a polling site, and
entertained workers from the Union Canal and the quarries. Cattle and
horse sales occurred at the rear of the property. As the hotel’s popularity
grew, the modest building was enlarged with additions including a third
floor. A brick smoke house and brownstone kitchen are at the rear of the
property.
The Brownstone (the site of Bill’s Restaurant) refers to an architecture style
as well as a building material. Brownstones came to be known as the row
houses which were popular in the late nineteenth century in Brooklyn and
Manhattan. The structures are called brownstones because these multiplestory row houses are clad in the stone. Hummelstown’s Brownstone has
been “dressed” with a brownstone foundation, door steps, window sills, and
lintels. The bricks and mortar are made of pulverized brownstone.
N. WATER STREET
40 East Main Street
W. Long Alley
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S. HANOVER STREET
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8 West Main Street
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S. ROSANNA STREET
The Reformed Church (today named the United Church of Christ) is
another example of brownstone in a public building. The 1907 church
was built with the then popular Richardson Romanesque Style. This
style features towers, leaded and stained glass windows, asymmetrical
floor plans, pointed arched windows and doorways, and extensive use of
masonry. Brownstone was a durable building material, but easily cut by
contracted stonecutters immigrating from Italy.
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E. North Alley
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Corner of East Main Street and Water Street
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w. MAIN STREET
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At this intersection, one stands at Hummelstown’s Old Commercial
District, the oldest commercial district in town. The earliest deed for a
corner property is 1752. In 1790, the Rahm and Baum Store sat on the
corner across the street. Water Street is named for the early wells dug along
this street and property owners paid fees to have the right to “draw” water.
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Intersection of Main and Water Streets
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The Clunie House, now a computer store, is one of the oldest log structures
in town. In 1681, William Penn was the original owner of this land. James
Clunie “kept store” here. Mr. Clunie sold the building to John Barnard
who sold it to Abraham Landis who ultimately transferred the property
to Fredrick, son of the town’s founder. The location on the Square always
insured the value of the property to business persons. An Esso gas station
was once situated here as automobiles became prominent. Underground
passages as part of the Underground Railroad in the Civil War allegedly
connected the property to 112 East Main and 26 West Main Streets.
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The Shope House is a two-family brick house built in 1878 by Dr. Jacob
Shope who operated a drug store adjoining the property at 112 East Main
Street. The unassuming frame structure had a hidden vaulted room in the
basement which may have been part of the Underground Railroad. The
brick house features brownstone in its round arched windows, window
lintels, sills, and foundations. The drug store eventually became the site
of Harvey Schaeffer’s harness and saddle shop. Mr. Scheaffer provided
an important service for farmers with workhorses and town residents with
horses used to pull carriages.
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2-6 West Main Street on the Square
N. HANOVER STREET
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114 and 116 East Main Street
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W. North Alley
N. ROSANNA STREET
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Hummelstown’s 250th Celebration Self-Guided Walking Tour of Main Street
Sponsored by the Hummelstown Area Historical Society
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The Old Hummel Homestead is now Bowser’s Furniture Store, the oldest
family business still operating in town. The Bowsers bought the furniture
and funeral home from the Karmany Family in 1928. Caskets were made by
the same craftsmen that built furniture, which explains why early undertaker
and furniture businesses were owned by the same merchant. This was an
early limestone home owned by Hummel descendants. Founded in 1924,
the oldest business serving Hummelstown residents is Bell’s Meat Market
located across the Swatara Bridge.
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The Hummel Houses are the earliest structures owned by the Hummel
descendants. Both houses are built of logs. Frederick Hummel had eleven
children, and each of those children produced large families. The Hummels
had a significant presence in early Hummelstown as builders, shop owners,
and landlords. Dauphin County deeds show that Hummel’s second wife and
widow inherited these properties. Hummel grandsons bought the properties
from Hummel’s estate for a store. The Grovesville family descendants still
own the corner property.
Thank you to the following Sponsors of the Walking Tour whose generous donations support the
Hummelstown Area Historical Society’s mission of preservation:
Down a Country Road
295 East Main Street
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Indian Echo Caverns
368 Middletown Road
Roxy’s Chatterbox Cafe
254 West Main Street
The Law Firm of Wion, Zulli & Seibert
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113 East Main Street
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Posies Rods and Customs
219 North Duke Street
Razzle’s Ice Cream Parlor
40 West Main Street
The Wagner Insurance Agency
107 West Main Street
— Walking Tour of Main Street —
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12 North Rosanna Street
The 1815 Parish House was built on land that Frederick Hummel
designated for use as a church in 1764. Its presence was assured because
it was intentionally built on the highest point of land in the community.
The Parish House replaced a log structure that burned in 1814. Today, the
Parish House is still used for religious ceremonies, and is also the museum
of the Hummelstown Area Historical Society, the official host of the
tour. Frederick and Rosina Hummel are buried in the adjoining Hummel
Memorial Cemetery. Fourteen Revolutionary War soldiers are also buried
in the Hummel cemetery. The stone wall that circles the cemetery had a
purpose—to keep cattle, horses, mules, pigs, goats, chickens, and wildlife
out of the cemetery.
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Corner of Main and Rosanna
The “newer” Zion Lutheran Church is located at the corner of Main and
Rosanna Streets, named after Frederick Hummel’s first wife. Built in the
1890s, the church features brownstone from the nearby Walton Brownstone
Quarries. Brownstone was a popular building material in the country
between 1880 and 1920. Brownstone appears extensively in Hummelstown
structures because the Waltons wanted to see how stone could be used.
Brownstone was used for buildings and bridges, as well as tombstones,
curbs, window sills, steps, and foundations in town. On the opposite
corner is Razzle’s Ice Cream Parlor and two blocks away is Roxy’s
Chatterbox Cafe, both sponsors of the Walking Tour.
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118 West Main Street
The three-story stone Walmer House was built by Samuel Walmer. Mr.
Walmer was well known because he sold, repaired, and rented buggies and
wagons to residents as well visitors and traveling salesmen. The Walmer
Carriage Works was located on the lot that today is occupied by the funeral
home. The house was built in 1844 in a Greek Revival style. Limestone or
fieldstone was plentiful in the area, therefore homes, businesses, and barns
were built of this material. One local quarry is located across the Swatara
Creek on the Hoernerstown Road.
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120 West Main Street
This 1890 Queen Anne Home at the corner of Main and Railroad Streets
is a stately home that was the western boundary of Hummelstown, as
originally designed by Hummel. This part of town was developed when the
railroad was built north of the town in the 1850s. Railroad Street is aptly
named because the street leads one to the train tracks. The railroad, and the
Union Canal by the Swatara Creek built in 1848, increased Hummelstown’s
prominence as a commercial center.
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201 West Main Street
Nissley’s Mammoth Store, as referred to by the Hummelstown Sun in
1892, is one example of the commercial development that occurred after
the Civil War in this part of town. This store is on Lot #1 in the later phase
of Hummelstown’s development. The three-story building was remodeled
about 1868 in the Italian Villa style. The building was originally built in
1847 of limestone, and then sheathed in brick. Walk behind the building to
see the transformation. An attached building was built in a Mission Revival
Style for the National Bank founded in 1882.
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107 West Main Street
The Abner Hummel House is a very old brick structure with a new facade.
Abner Hummel built several properties in town and was the great-grandson
of Frederick Hummel. The Wagner Insurance Agency is located in the
structure and is a proud sponsor of the Walking Tour. This business is
the second oldest family business in town having been founded in 1932 by
Samuel Wagner, then owned by son Russell Wagner and currently owned by
grandson Dale Wagner.
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41 West Main Street
“Big Bend” in the Swatara. The Hershey Fountain on the Square provided
drinking water for horses but was removed when the trolley tracks went
through the Square starting in 1905. Later, a famous arch adorned the Square’s
center, advertising the Indian Echo Caverns, a sponsor of the Walking
Tour. (And who can forget the town’s Christmas tree in the Square!)
Parades through the Square honored the Hummelstown men and women
who participated in every American War since the Revolution. Be sure to look
at the plaques in the Square that display old pictures of the community. Town
residents may recall Hocker’s Pharmacy on the Square established in 1908. It
was at this time that the automobile first appeared in the Square. Posies Rods
and Customs is also a sponsor of the Walking Tour and it is always fun to
see one of their custom cars drive through the Square.
14 - 113 East Main Street
10 - 13 East Main Street
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Joseph Hummel House was built in 1817 as a wedding present for Joseph
and Elizabeth Hummel. Joseph was the grandson of Frederick Hummel.
During its history, the building housed a store, the first bank in town, and
the first post office, as well as various physician offices. The house features
Georgian architecture and uses local limestone. An old stone barn resides at
the rear of the property.
The Tavern House, at the corner of Main and Rosanna Street, is a small log
house enlarged with a frame addition to look like a white clapboarded New
England Federal house. In 1793, Frederick Hummel II purchased the log
structure from Jacob Dearing, a fellow soldier in the American Revolutionary
War. Major William Gould of the New Jersey Infantry accompanied George
Washington on his western expedition to put down the Whiskey Rebellion.
In his diary entry for October 2, 1794, Major Gould wrote “Marched to
Hummelstown—a handsome village with kind inhabitants; we were
invited into their homes and had good entertainment in taverns.” President
Washington’s personal diary also acknowledges his visit to Hummelstown.
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The stately Henderson House is a three-story Greek Revival townhouse,
built of local brick, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Dr.
William Henderson bought Lot #10 in 1823 as a site to practice medicine.
His widow, Sarah, built the present home in the 1850s. Their son, Dr. William
B. Henderson also practiced medicine in this home. The house was bought by
the Fox family in 1877 and later became home to the beloved Mary Fox Doll
Hospital.
10 West Main Street
The Nisley House was a brick house when built in 1830. In the 1880s–1890s,
the structure was “victorianized” with a coat of white paint, new windows,
front door, and “ballroom” on the third floor. W. H. Siple renovated the house
to demonstrate the lumber products available at his lumberyard on Second
Street. In the mid-1950s, the building was a popular dining establishment
operated by the Nisleys.
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The Square
The Square’s diamond design was created by Hummel 250 years ago
where Main Street, originally called Market, and Hanover Streets crossed.
Today, travelers use these same streets to drive to Harrisburg, Stoverdale and
Middletown, Derry and Reading, and across the Swatara Creek to the farms
in the Hanovers. Early settlers noted that Hummelstown was located at the
25 East Main Street
The site of an insurance office, the Gish Buser House is log construction, and
may date back as far as 1802. George Gish was the proprietor of a store in one
portion of the house. His daughter married butcher Wills Buser. The Buser
families lived here for 110 years. Meals were prepared in the large summer
kitchen attached to the rear. Hummelstown’s first bath tub was located in this
log house.
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31 East Main Street
39 East Main Street
The Engine House at 39 East Main Street was built in 1869 by the Niobe Fire
Company. A single bay in the front housed the horse-drawn fire engine, with
entrance doors on either side. Offices, as well as a jail, were located in the
rear. The horses that pulled the fire engine were housed in a barn in the back.
Hummelstown residents preferred stone and brick structures to wood because
of the great threat fire posed to the wooden structures in town.
The Fox House is a center hall Federal Home built prior to the Civil War.
The builder was Richard Hummel, another Hummel descendant and builder.
Originally the property was the site of the Seven Stars Tavern owned by
Revolutionary War soldier, Peter Spayde. Dr. Thomas Fox bought this
house in 1877 and used a downstairs room for his office. This is Lot #5
as surveyed by Hummel in 1762. The lot measures 60 feet by 198 feet and
extends from Main Street to the rear alley.
113 East Main Street, the site of the 250th Anniversary Headquarters,
is also the office of Jean Seibert and the firm of Wion, Zulli and Seibert,
a sponsor of the Walking Tour. The house displays patriotic bunting from
Down a Country Road, also a sponsor of the Tour.
The Corner of Main Street and Quarry Road
When standing at the corner in the 1760s, you could look across the street at
Grovesville, once a Derry Township village. You would also be standing on
Lot #1 of Hummel’s original surveyed plan. Look to the rear of the parking
lot and see the Red Horse Barn (15A on the map) in the alley. Early
Pennsylvania towns are noted for their alleys. The red barn is a surviving
example of a horse and carriage barn. The horse and carriage (or wagon)
were on the ground level while hay and straw were stored in the loft.
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211 East Main Street
The Mullin House is actually two brick houses joined with a single mansard
roof. The west side of the building is the older part, built in 1829. The east
side was probably built for older family members since there are interior
doors between the two structures. The older side has fireplaces; the newer
side has chimneys for coal stoves. The interior woodwork is ornate which
is unusual for Hummelstown homes. The original owners were wealthy.
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224 East Main Street
The Balsbaugh & Karmany House is a limestone house with a step stone
dated 1854. The structure is a side hall, Georgian townhouse. The house
was owned by John Balsbaugh, a successful landowner of more than 500
acres of farm land. The Karmany family founded the furniture store on the
Square. The wrought iron fence and herringbone brick sidewalk are later
“refinements” to this property.
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222 East Main Street
The Grove Log House, the original Grove homestead, was built around
1800 and is the oldest unaltered structure on Main Street. The downstairs
featured three rooms. An enclosed staircase leads to four upstairs rooms.
At that time, windows and doors would have been crafted in Philadelphia
and shipped to the town for the house. The steep roof was intended to shed
snow. There are at least twelve log structures in Hummelstown.