Hummelstown Brownstone Company facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
|
|
Quarries of the Hummelstown Brownstone Company
|
|
 |
|
 Location in Pennsylvania
Location in the United States
|
|
| Location | Roughly N of Brookline Dr., Amber Dr., Derry Township, Pennsylvania |
|---|---|
| Area | 21 acres (8.5 ha) |
| Built | 1863 |
| NRHP reference No. | 03000075 |
| Added to NRHP | February 27, 2003 |
The Hummelstown Brownstone Company (HBC) owned and ran stone quarries near Hummelstown, Pennsylvania. From 1863 to 1929, they dug up a special type of stone called Hummelstown brownstone. This stone was very popular for building homes and other structures across the United States. Today, the old quarries of the HBC are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This means they are important historical sites.
Contents
History of the Quarries
Early Stone Digging
People first started digging for brownstone in the Hummelstown area a long time ago. German settlers began these early stone pits in the late 1700s. They used the stone for their own buildings.
The Hummelstown Brownstone Company
The Hummelstown Brownstone Company was officially started in 1863. It was first known as the Pennsylvania Brown Free Stone Company. Allen Walton was the founder of this company. The company hired many skilled workers. These workers were good at cutting and shaping stone. Many of them were immigrants who came from other countries.
Working at the Quarries
At its busiest time, the Hummelstown Brownstone Company had about 500 workers. These men dug out the stone and prepared it for building. Many of the skilled workers were Italian, German, and Scotch-Irish immigrants.
Digging stone was hard work. The type of stone found here made it difficult to quarry in cold weather. Because of this, only the most skilled workers kept their jobs during the winter months. Other workers would return when the weather warmed up.
Comparing Stone Quarries
The Hummelstown quarries were not as huge as some others, like those in Portland, Connecticut. However, they were just as good at producing high-quality brownstone. They were also strong competitors against other quarries. This included those in places like Medina and Moscow, New York.
Around 1910, the Walton family, who owned the company, made a special booklet. This booklet was for advertising their stone. It listed almost 400 buildings that were made using their brownstone. This shows how popular and widely used Hummelstown brownstone was.
