• 1608 -Writings of Captain John Smith helped establish some of the earliest records of government in the area of Derry Township.

• 1675 -The Iroquois had destroyed the Susquehannocks as a nation and no other major tribes settled in the Derry area after that time.

• 1681 - King Charles II granted William Penn the land Pennsylvania in payment of a debt owed to Penn's late father. Penn went on to establish a colony and acquired land between the Susquehanna and Delaware Rivers which included Derry.

• 1724 - Derry Presbyterian Church organized.

• 1729 - During our nation's growth, subdivisions of land were determined for tax purposes. The proprietors of Pennsylvania created Derry Township as part of Lancaster County. Derry then included what later became four townships in two counties. The national and religious identity of Derry's early settlers is varied, but mostly made up of Scotch-Irish, German, and Swiss-Germans who migrated for religious and political beliefs.

• 1732 - Construction of the Session House of the Derry Presbyterian Church; currently the oldest structure in Derry Township.

• 1752 - Sand Hill Lutheran Church officially organized.

• 1785 - Dauphin County was carved from Lancaster County. At that time, Derry Township became a Township of the Second Class governed by a Board of Supervisors.

• 1787 - Earliest local census figures show Derry Township's population at 198.

• 1826 - County Court of Harrisburg accepted a survey of boundaries for Derry Township. These boundaries have scarcely been changed since then.

• 1843 - First Evangelical United Brethren Church was organized. It is still standing on Park Avenue.

• 1844 - Derry Church, a one-room schoolhouse, was built on Mansion Road for public education purposes.

• 1848 - Spring Creek Church of the Brethren was founded.

• 1900 - People from Italy migrated to this country for economic reasons. Many worked as stonecutters in area quarries. Later they would leave the quarries for more lucrative jobs in the Hershey Factory.

• 1903 - Hershey Chocolate Company was founded by Milton Snavley Hershey.

• 1905 - Hershey Volunteer Fire Company was organized. McKinley School built at corner of Chocolate and Cocoa Avenues to replace several one-room school houses in the Township.

• 1907 - The Hershey Chocolate Company developed the Hershey Kiss.

• 1909 - Hershey Industrial School (a school for "unfortunate boys") was created through an endowment of Milton S. Hershey and his wife Catherine.

• 1910 - McKinley School enlarged to accommodate the growing school population.

• 1914 - The Consolidated Public School on Granada Avenue was built by Milton S. Hershey as a gift to the community.

• 1923 - The H. B. Reese Candy Company developed their Peanut Butter Cup.

• 1924 - The Pennsylvania State Police Academy relocated to Hershey from Newville.

• 1925 - A Junior-Senior High School was added to the school on Granada Avenue.

• 1929 - A vocational-technical school added to the school complex on Granada Avenue. Both Derry Township and Hershey Industrial School students attended this school. The Hershey Park Pool opened as well as the Hershey Estates Dairy.

• 1933 - 1939 An extensive building campaign added the following structures to the community - The Community Center, Senior Hall, the Windowless Office Building at the Hershey Chocolate Factory, the Arena, Stadium, and Hotel Hershey. The Hershey Rose Garden was opened to the public in the spring of 1936.

• 1938 - Hershey Junior College opened.

• 1960 - Derry Township's population was approximately 12,000.

• 1963 - The Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, a teaching facility, was established through a $50 million dollar award from the M. S. Hershey Foundation.

• 1964 - Hershey Junior College closes.

• 1966 - Derry Police Department established.

• 1970 - Hershey Hospital closes, and Cocoa Inn is demolished.

• 1972 - First owned Municipal Building

• 1977 - Shank Park created.

• 1980 - The population of the Township had grown to over 18,000.

• 1991 - Hershey Foods Corporate Office and Data Center was opened at Crystal A Drive, and the Derry Township Historical Society was formed.

• 1992 - Hershey Chocolate USA open the West Hershey Plant.

• 1993 - Municipal Annex Building constructed.

• 1994 - A large expansion was added to the Hershey Foods Technical Center.

• 1996 - New Hershey Public Library built.

• 1997 - Police Department obtained national and international accreditation through the Commission on Accreditation of Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA).

Thanks to the Derry Township Historical Society for Their assistance. The Society meets the third Thursday of January, March, May, July, September and November at 7:30P.M.

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