Summer is here, and what better way to spend it than at an amusement park? Especially one that hits close to home. Yes, I’m talking about Chocolate Town itself: Hershey Park. It’s not only a local favorite but a destination recognized around the world. Today, I’m diving into a part of its story most people never think about: the surveying history behind Hershey Park’s development. Let’s look at how careful planning and engineering helped shape the park we know today.
The story begins in 1903 in Hershey, Pennsylvania, where a man named Milton S. Hershey — you may have heard of his little chocolate company — had a vision for his growing town. He believed that for his community to thrive, it needed recreational space. So, he set aside 150 acres of land to build a leisure park for his employees. The original plans were modest, featuring landscaped areas and simple walking paths.
But the town of Hershey grew quickly, and public interest exploded. The park expanded to meet the demand, evolving from a small employee retreat into a major attraction. With every stage of growth came extensive surveying and engineering work that continues to this day. Surveyors were and are still responsible for mapping the park’s rolling terrain, identifying stable ground for future attractions and planning how guests would move through the park. Long before any coasters with loops were thought of, survey crews were out in the field documenting every slope, stream and elevation change. Their work determined many things like where footpaths could safely run, how drainage systems needed to be built, which areas were suitable for heavy structures and which areas to subdivide for residential purposes.
About 15 years ago, the Hershey Community Archives received a remarkable collection: approximately 220 field survey books spanning 70 years. These books document the park’s evolution in detail — land use, design plans, trolley routes and the countless decisions that shaped Hershey Park’s layout and attractions. They offer a rare look into how a century-old amusement park was built, expanded, and continually reimagined.
And thanks to that century of careful planning, Hershey Park continues to stand as the iconic landmark Milton strove to make it. Understanding the surveying history behind the park reminds us that even the sourest of obstacles can still turn a site into the “sweetest place on earth”.
If anyone is looking for plans this summer, it would be a sweet idea to add Hershey Park to your itinerary.
Look into tickets and specials here.
