 For over 65 years, this Arts and Crafts style home with its inviting open front porch on a quiet street in Hershey, Pennsylvania, has served as a restful sanctuary for thousands of weary travelers and visitors to “The Sweetest Place on Earth”.
Our history begins on August 14, 1937 when Mrs. Ruth E. Matthews sold a plot of land to Irvin M. Stare, and his wife Kathryn. Immediately, they broke ground to begin the building of their quality three-bedroom home located at 141 W. Caracas Avenue.
During the 1930’s, most of the country was in the grips of The Great Depression. However, that was not the case in Hershey, which was in the midst of the most expansive and exciting time in the town’s history. Our founding father Milton S. Hershey, being a philanthropist with an eye for the future and compassion for the citizenry of the community, decided to embark on a massive building campaign to provide employment for those suffering from economic events of the day. After blowing the dust off of  many plans that he had put on hold in previous years, over 600 people were hired by Mr. Hershey and tasked with building many of Hershey’s iconic structures, ranging from civic buildings to travel and tourism venues. This period saw the construction of the Community Building and Theater, Hotel Hershey, the Hershey Stadium, the Hersheypark Arena, and Senior Hall at the Milton Hershey School.
As our community grew, so did the number of people flocking to Hershey for its many attractions. With more visitors coming to see various things such as the Ice Follies, productions at the Hershey Theater and numerous sporting events, the need became greater for places to stay in town near the attractions. With this in mind, Irvin and Kathryn added living quarters for themselves to the back of their home, and decided to rent their other rooms to guests. They officially opened Stare’s Tourist Home in 1944. Since Irvin was employed as a full-time commercial electrician with The Hershey Electric Company, Kathryn, with a small son at home, became one of the very first female business owner/operators in town, and was well known and well respected. As more tourist homes sprang up, she decided to form a tourist home association, and served at its helm for many years.
Upon Irvin’s death in 1977, Kathryn decided to slow down operations and provided only seasonal accommodations, mostly to music students from local colleges during summer break. In 1985, Kathryn joined her beloved husband. A few months after her passing, the house was purchased by G. Robert Gibson and his wife, Frances, on August 26, 1986.
 Throughout Mr. Gibson’s career, he traveled the world extensively and met hundreds of people. Shortly after purchasing the property, he and Frances re-opened the doors as Gibson’s Bed and Breakfast. This provided an opportunity for the Gibsons to welcome their many lifelong friends to visit them in Hershey, and also to support the lodging needs of various tourists to the town. Frances was a professional chef at a local private school, thus, using her talents to become the main force behind the success of the bed and breakfast until her passing prior to 2007. Mr. Gibson modestly states that “Francie did all the work, I was just the entertainment!” Now in his upper eighties, he still visits friends in the neighborhood, and occasionally stops by to sit and visit on the front porch.
On August 15, 2007, Tom Powers purchased the property from Mr. Gibson. After two grueling weeks of painting, wallpapering and furnishing, he re-opened for Labor Day Weekend with a Victorian theme as The Gibson House Bed and Breakfast on September 1, 2007, a fitting celebration of his birthday.
Tom, a retired veteran of the U.S. Air Force and Pennsylvania Air National Guard, continues in the tradition of his predecessors by providing comfortable and affordable accommodations to many visitors to Hershey. He graciously encourages you to share in, and become part of the ongoing history of The Gibson House, and invites you to make memories that last a lifetime! |
