It has several businesses and shops designed to capitalize on the tourist travel that passes through town.

[7] They purchased the land for 200 pounds sterling, then divided the area into building lots, which were sold to German settlers.

During the mid-19th century, the Union Canal along Swatara Creek was an important factor in the development of the local economy, promoting trade and transportation.

The society has a library, museum, and genealogy section, and hosts numerous Native American relics, such as arrowheads, bones, and pottery.

Many residents of Hummelstown have jobs in Derry Township, mainly through Hershey Foods and its subsidiaries.

[11] Hummelstown is located in southern Dauphin County at 40°15′55″N 076°42′30″W / 40.26528°N 76.70833°W / 40.26528; -76.70833 (40.265168, −76.710995) at an elevation of 397 feet (121 m) above sea level.

[4] Swatara Creek, a southward-flowing tributary of the Susquehanna River, forms the northern and western border of Hummelstown,[12] and there is one unnamed pond by the Hummel Nature Trail east of the 7–11, at the end of town, next to the Tee Ball baseball field.

[citation needed] U.S. Route 322 skirts the south side of the borough as the Hummelstown Bypass.

At the west end of Hummelstown, Fiddlers Elbow Road crosses the US 322 bypass without access to it, then leads south 3 miles (5 km) to the PA 283 expressway.

Going east Main Street turns into PA Route 39 at what part is known as Hersheypark Drive in Derry Township.

[17] Directly within the main limits of the town, excluding those of the development of Graystone, as well as those that have Hummelstown addresses, there is a total of 1,953 housing units.

The town is home to a historical landmark, the Warwick Hotel, which is still a tavern reminiscent of its pre-Revolutionary War days.

[citation needed] Indian Echo Caverns, located one-half mile south of the borough limits, is one of the main attractions near Hummelstown.

The caverns were originally used by the Susquehannock tribe, who lived and hunted in the nearby area until they vanished in the 1670s; it opened to the public in 1929.

The Hummelstown Borough Council has expressed concern around quality of life issues (noise, odor, safety) with having more trains passing through town.

As such, trains stop just south of the busy four-lane U.S. Route 322 grade crossing on a regular basis, and are allowed to enter town exactly 12 times per year.

[22] Norfolk Southern's busy Harrisburg Line traverses the northern section of Hummelstown, with up to 20 lengthy freight trains passing through daily.

Hummelstown is home to The Sun newspaper, which covers Hummelstown, Hershey and Palmyra area (Lower Dauphin, Derry Township, Milton Hershey and Palmyra Area school districts).