{"nrhp_refnum":"03000075","name":"Quarries of the Hummelstown Brownstone Company","other_names":["Berst Quarries","Pennsylvania Brown Freestone Company Quarries"],"category":"site","location":{"address":"Roughly N of Brookline Dr., Amber Dr.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Derry Township","county":"Dauphin County","state":"PA","lat":40.221952876000074,"lon":-76.69080510815269,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2003-02-27","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Four brownstone quarry pits and the remnants of a brick plant and railroad bed in Derry Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, about two miles south of Hummelstown. The quarries occupy about twenty-one acres on the south side of South Mountain.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the quarries made a significant contribution to American building arts as an industry that kept pace with technical changes in stone quarrying in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The company supplied brownstone widely across Pennsylvania and to other states, and its stone was praised by architects and tested for hardness and durability. The 1885 railroad link to the main rail line greatly increased production.","narrative":"Four brownstone quarry pits in Derry Township, Dauphin County, lie about two miles south of Hummelstown on the south side of South Mountain. The sandstone, a Triassic formation colored by iron oxides, was cut from pits that reach depths of about 160 to 200 feet. Quarrying began in the 1850s after contractors in Harrisburg took notice of the stone, and the Berst family's Rapho tract became the first site. The Pennsylvania Brown Free Stone Company was chartered in 1867, and Allen Walton directed its operations from 1868. It was rechartered as the Hummelstown Brownstone Company in 1891. The company's stone went to buildings in Philadelphia, Gettysburg and elsewhere, and was valued for durability and color. A railroad linking the quarries to the Philadelphia and Reading line in 1885 greatly increased output. The site is listed for its role in the regional building-stone industry. Today the water-filled pits remain, along with the railroad bed and ruins of the brick plant.","period_of_significance":"1850 to 1927","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":null,"criteria":["A"],"status_note":"Quarries are water-filled and now resemble lakes surrounded by woodland; the brick plant retains four pillars and a brownstone arch.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:38.05892-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/03000075.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/03000075/fc1f86f046-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/03000075/fc1f86f046-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"JERRYE &amp; ROY KLOTZ, M.D.","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:THE_QUARRIES_OF_HUMMELSTONE_BROWNSTONE_COMPANY,_DAUPHIN_COUNTY,_PA.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">JERRYE &amp;amp; ROY KLOTZ, M.D.</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:THE_QUARRIES_OF_HUMMELSTONE_BROWNSTONE_COMPANY,_DAUPHIN_COUNTY,_PA.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71995230","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hummelstown_Brownstone_Company","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5940951"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/dauphin-county/quarries-of-the-hummelstown-brownstone-company-03000075/"}