Hummelstown Brownstone Quarries
Hummelstown, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
High quality brownstone was quarried near here, 1863-1929, and sold across the nation as a preferred masonry material of builders. The Hummelstown Brownstone Company, founded by Allen Walton, employed immigrant skilled stone-cutters and laborers in its quarries.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
From 1863 to 1929, quarries near Hummelstown cut a rich, even-grained brownstone prized by builders across the country as a fashionable masonry stone. The Hummelstown Brownstone Company, founded by Allen Walton, drew immigrant stone-cutters and laborers whose skilled hands shaped the blocks that faced churches, rowhouses, and public buildings far beyond Pennsylvania.
Why it matters
Hummelstown brownstone helped clothe the streetscapes of Gilded Age America, and its quarries are a reminder of how immigrant craftsmanship literally built the nation's cities.
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Related people
- · Allen Walton
Themes & tags
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