Mount Joy: Tracks, Trades & Transformation
📅 Sunday, December 6, 2026
⏰ 11:00 am–1:00 pm
📍 Meeting Location: Outside the Mount Joy Train Station 21 E Henry St, Mount Joy, PA 17552
Before Milton Hershey became a chocolate legend, he made caramels in Mount Joy. Before trains traveled through the deep railroad cut that divides the borough today, they rumbled directly through town. And long before Mount Joy became the community we know today, it was a bustling center of malt production, brewing, and manufacturing.
Some of those industries have disappeared. Others left behind buildings, landmarks, and stories hiding in plain sight.
Join public historian Eric Schubert for Mount Joy: Tracks, Trades & Transformation, a guided history hike through one of Lancaster County’s most fascinating industrial communities.
Along the way, Schubert will reveal how railroads, entrepreneurs, factories, and changing industries transformed Mount Joy from a collection of small settlements into a thriving borough.
This is more than a tour of historic buildings. It’s the story of ambitious businessmen, hardworking laborers, industries that rose and fell, and a community continually reinventing itself.
What You’ll Discover
On this engaging walk, you’ll explore:
- The railroad that reshaped Mount Joy. Discover how trains once traveled directly through town and why the railroad was eventually relocated into the dramatic cut that still defines the borough’s landscape.
- When Mount Joy was the “Malt Capital of the U.S.” Learn about Philip Frank, his once-important malt works, and the industry that helped put Mount Joy on the national map.
- The connection between malt and beer. Explore how Frank’s malt business and Alois Bube’s brewery were part of Mount Joy’s interconnected brewing industry.
- Milton Hershey’s forgotten Mount Joy factory. Before becoming one of America’s most famous chocolate makers, Hershey manufactured caramels in Mount Joy. Discover this lesser-known chapter of his remarkable career.
- Mount Joy’s vanished chocolate and manufacturing industries. Uncover the factories and businesses that once provided jobs for generations of residents.
- The villages that became Mount Joy. Trace the borough’s origins through its early town plan and the development of Mountjoy, Richland, and Florin.
- Main Street’s changing landscape. Discover how commerce, transportation, and industry shaped the borough’s historic downtown.
- The surprising story of Old Standby Park. Learn how a former manufactured-gas plant became a public park and what this transformation reveals about Mount Joy’s industrial past.
From the railroad tracks to the malt houses, from Hershey’s caramel factory to a park with an unexpected industrial history, this walk offers a fresh perspective on a community whose contributions reached far beyond Lancaster County.
Meet Your Guide: Eric Schubert
Schubert brings a unique combination of local knowledge, historical research, and genealogical investigation to the tour. A graduate of Elizabethtown College and Millersville University, he has researched and shared overlooked stories from throughout Lancaster County.
He is also an internationally recognized genealogist and forensic genetic genealogist whose work has contributed to family reunifications and the resolution of long-unsolved criminal cases. His research has been featured by Good Morning America, People, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and other national media outlets.
Schubert serves on the board and executive committee of the Historic Preservation Trust of Lancaster County and was selected as a Next-Gen Leader by the White House Historical Association. He also co-organized the W. Miller Barbour Lecture Series, which helped restore the legacy of an Elizabethtown College alumnus, human rights pioneer, and National Urban League leader.
Event Details
- Date: Sunday, December 6, 2026
- Time: 11:00 am
- Starting Point: Outside the Mount Joy Train Station 21 E Henry St, Mount Joy, PA 17552
- Distance: About 3 miles
- Duration: Approximately two hours, depending on questions and discussion
- Terrain: Primarily borough sidewalks with street crossings
- Weather: Rain or shine. Any cancellation due to severe weather will be announced before the event.
- Parking: 21 E Henry St, Mount Joy, PA 17552
- Capacity: Limited to 20 participants
- Cost: $20 per person
Reserve Your Spot
Whether you’ve lived in Mount Joy your entire life or have only passed through on Main Street, chances are there are stories about this borough you’ve never heard.
Discover the factories that vanished, the entrepreneurs who helped shape American industry, and the railroad that forever changed the town’s landscape.
Step into history. Follow the tracks of the past. Experience Mount Joy like never before.