Hummelstown Brownstone Company
Encyclopedia
From 1863 to 1929, the Hummelstown Brownstone Company (HBC) owned and operated quarries in the Hummelstown, Pennsylvania
area which produced Hummelstown brownstone
, once widely used as a building stone throughout the USA. The quarries of the HBC are listed on the National Register of Historic Places
.
pits were first opened by early German settlers in the late 18th Century. The HBC itself (originally known as the Pennsylvania Brown Free Stone Company) was founded by Allen Walton and the quarries employed many immigrant skilled stone-cutters and laborers. At the height of its production, the HBC employed about 500 men in quarrying and finishing the stone. Most of the skilled workers were Italian, German, and Scotch-Irish immigrants. However, because the nature of the stone made it impossible for the stone to be quarried in the cold of winter, only the skilled workers were kept on during the winter months.
Although not as large as the vast brownstone quarries at Portland, Connecticut
, the Hummelstown operation was their equal in every respect and a viable competitor of most other brownstone quarries including those at Medina
and Moscow, New York.
The Walton family published an advertising booklet around 1910 which listed almost 400 structures built of their stone.
Hummelstown, Pennsylvania
Hummelstown is a borough in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 4,360 as of the 2000 census. It is part of the Harrisburg–Carlisle Metropolitan Statistical Area....
area which produced Hummelstown brownstone
Hummelstown brownstone
Hummelstown brownstone is a medium-grain, dense sandstone quarried near Hummelstown in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, USA. It is a dark brownstone with reddish to purplish hues, and was once widely used as a building stone in the United States....
, once widely used as a building stone throughout the USA. The quarries of the HBC are listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
.
History and operations
Hummelstown brownstoneBrownstone
Brownstone is a brown Triassic or Jurassic sandstone which was once a popular building material. The term is also used in the United States to refer to a terraced house clad in this material.-Types:-Apostle Island brownstone:...
pits were first opened by early German settlers in the late 18th Century. The HBC itself (originally known as the Pennsylvania Brown Free Stone Company) was founded by Allen Walton and the quarries employed many immigrant skilled stone-cutters and laborers. At the height of its production, the HBC employed about 500 men in quarrying and finishing the stone. Most of the skilled workers were Italian, German, and Scotch-Irish immigrants. However, because the nature of the stone made it impossible for the stone to be quarried in the cold of winter, only the skilled workers were kept on during the winter months.
Although not as large as the vast brownstone quarries at Portland, Connecticut
Portland, Connecticut
Portland is a town in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 8,732 at the 2000 census. The town center is listed as a census-designated place . It is situated across the Connecticut River from Middletown....
, the Hummelstown operation was their equal in every respect and a viable competitor of most other brownstone quarries including those at Medina
Medina, New York
Medina is a village in the towns of Shelby and Ridgeway in Orleans County, New York, United States. The population was 6,415 at the 2000 census, making it the second most populous municipality in the county after Albion, the county seat. The village was named by its surveyor...
and Moscow, New York.
The Walton family published an advertising booklet around 1910 which listed almost 400 structures built of their stone.