Hershey Gardens

Hershey Gardens is a 23-acre (9.3 ha) botanical garden and arboretum located at 170 Hotel Road, Hershey, near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. They are set atop a hill overlooking Hersheypark. It was built as a gift from chocolate magnate Milton S. Hershey for his community and to honor his wife, Catherine.

History

The Hershey Gardens first opened to the public on June 2, 1937 as a rose garden occupying 3.5 acres (1.4 ha). On the first day more than 20,000 visitors came to see the rose garden. In 1937, 1939 and 1941 Milton Hershey added more gardens. By 1941 the gardens had been enlarged to their current size, 23 acres (9.3 ha).

In September 1938 the American Rose Society honored Milton Hershey's dedication to roses by naming a rose after him. L.B. Coddington, a prominent rose hybridiser from Murray Hill, New Jersey, proposed that a scarlet-crimson red (velvet black red) rose he was developing be named ‘M.S. Hershey.’

In 1942, the land to the east of the Rose Garden was deemed unfit on which to farm or build houses, so Milton Hershey ordered the creation of another garden.