Hersheypark - History

History

In 1903, Milton S. Hershey, founder of the Hershey Chocolate Company, surveyed a site along Spring Creek that would be suitable for his park. Until 1906, it was simply a little park area for Hershey employees to visit and have picnics. On May 30, 1906, Hershey dedicated the park and called it Hershey Park. Over the years, attractions were added and removed, including a roller coaster, thrill rides, and funhouses. In 1970, the park was redeveloped after being in disrepair for a number of years. The name was changed to Hersheypark and it has operated under that name ever since.

Hersheypark developed a number of themed areas, the first being Carrousel Circle and Der Deitch Platz in 1972, followed by Tower Plaza in 1975, and the most recent being The Boardwalk at Hersheypark in 2007. The themed areas featured different music, such as polka-style songs being played in Der Deitch Platz and Carrousel Circle, country music being played in the Pioneer Frontier themed area, the Beach Boys being played near Tidal Force and later in The Boardwalk, as well as Ragtime and jazz music being played in Midway America. Over the years, however, the music was phased into being the same across the park, except in The Boardwalk.

The park added its first roller coaster in 1923, The Wild Cat, for the town of Hershey's twentieth anniversary, and its most recent roller coaster in 2012, Skyrush. Between 1991 and 2012, the park added nine roller coasters, after having added only four between 1946 and 1990, all of which remain except for a twin roller coaster called Toboggan (colloquially it was called Twin Toboggans) which had been located in Carrousel Circle.