Preservation Weekend 2016
Tickets available for purchase starting now! Click here to register on line.
Many affordable sponsor and ad opportunities are available. To view the Sposorship Prospectus for this year's event click here!
Annual Preservation Gala: Building on Our Last 50 Years
This year's gala serves as a special remembrance of our town since the National Preservation Act was passed in 1966 for the purpose of preserving our nation's architectural and cultural heritage. Join us as we celebrate the history and architecture that identifies our community and as we reflect on the changes in our landscape, large and small, through the past five decades.
Click here to learn more about the history behind this year's Preservation Gala!
A History of Political Buttons
A History of Political Buttons and Ephemera from Presidential and Gubernatorial Campaigns
Ted Herman and Mike Aumiller have amassed a collection of political buttons and ephemera, some which date to the turn of the 20th century, and will share this collection on Wednesday, November 2, 2016 at 7:00PM in the Society's community room. This program, including a history of candidate promotion and the collecting hobby, will focus on both Presidential and Gubernatorial elections, and will feature unique items from two individuals with ties to Hershey: President Eisenhower and Governor Leader.
Changes to Museum Hours
Please Note...
Weekend hours have changed. The museum will be open the first and third Saturday's of the month only. The Society will be closed on the second and fourth Saturdays until further notice.
Preservation Tour
SOLD OUT
Travel on the trolley as it takes you to three sites where you will hear several stories of entities that were once part of the immediate area. Tickets are $15. Call (717) 520-0748 for tickets and available tour times.
To share your own memories or stories about lost entities, please send us an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Join us on Saturday September 17, 2016 for our fourth annual Preservation Tour and learn about long-gone but interesting pieces of our local history by visiting the sites of entities that no longer exist.
Announcement!
HOCKEY'S LOST BOY: THE RISE AND FALL OF GEORGE PATTERSON
HOCKEY'S LOST BOY: THE RISE AND FALL OF GEORGE PATTERSON
Showing at the Allen Theater, Annville, PA
November 13, 2016 at 1:30 PM
$5.00 Donation benefiting HDTHS
It is not often that you can say a goal launched a hockey empire. But, when Kingston Ontario's George Patterson* suited up for the newly minted Toronto Maple Leafs on a cold winter night on February 17, 1927, he had no idea that he would score his first NHL goal that evening, never mind the first goal in the Leafs' history. Both the player and the team would go on to have eventful histories, and the ups and downs of Patterson's individual story would closely mirror that of Toronto's iconic hockey club over the ensuing years. Ultimately, scandal derailed Patterson's hockey career. From director Dale Morrissey (the Father of Hockey & Only the Dead Know the Brooklyn Americans) comes the story of how one man who loves the game of hockey fades from our memory and is forced to exist in hockey's shadows as the club he served so valiantly turns it back on its own history.
*George Patterson played two years for the Hershey Bears Hockey Club during the 1943-44 season. He was elected captain of the hockey club and led them to a first place finish in the eastern Conference with a 30-16-8 record. As a two-way player, he was fourth in team scoring and played in all seven playoff games, losing to the eventual Calder Cup champion Buffalo Bisons in seven games. In his two year tenure in Hershey, he was a point-per-game player, considered a leader on the team and a dominant player with the league.
Take a Trip with Us!
Our 2016 Schedule of Regional One Day Trips...
- Thursday, September 15 – Grounds for Sculpture, NJ
- Thursday, October 13 – Scandals of D.C.- "Misremembering & Misbehaving"
- Thursday, November 17 – NYC: The 9/11 Memorial & One World Trade Center Observatory
- Thursday, December 1 – Deck the Halls - Winterthur & Longwood Gardens
PLUS 2017 CUBA!
- Stay tuned for more information on our Cuba Trip... November 30 - December 10, 2017 INCLUDING a day at Cuba-Hershey!!
Volunteers Needed!
Our orgainization is dependant on the help of our volunteers for our routine operations. We are currently in need of assistance with various tasks. If you are interested please send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Thank you.
Be A Member
Thanks to your membership support, we provide superior research opportunities and open community access to Derry Township history from 1729 until today. Discover what is unique about our community! Connect to your roots through our genealogical records and library, take an exclusive tour of a local historic site or learn more about your historic home.
Mission Statement
The Mission of the Hershey - Derry Township Historical Society is dedicated to preserve, promote, and interpret the history of Derry Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania.