Humble Beginnings

Around 1905, while still living within the limits of Millerstown, William J. Hall began selling milk from a metal can and ladle hauled to town by a horse drawn buggy. Shortly after moving a few miles outside of town to “Pleasant Home Farm”, rumor has it that he bought the last remaining cow in town. Not long after, he purchased a specially constructed delivery wagon from Swab Wagon Co. in Elizabethville, PA for the purpose of delivering milk. Pulled by “Dolly”, the wheels turned completely under the front of the wagon allowing for zero turning radius. There was a spigot for dispensing the milk from a can that had a stirring rod that could be used to keep the milk from separating.

This continued until 1916 when William Hall’s health failed and he had to quit. Several of Mr. Hall’s neighbors began delivering milk to replace his business in Raccoon Valley.

Our Roots

In 1939, William’s son, John K. Hall along with his sons, John Allen, William (Bill) and James (Jim), built a plant at the “Pleasant Home Farm” site and were the first to introduce pasteurized milk into the area.

Eight years later in 1947, they were the first in the area to begin homogenizing milk.

Hall’s Ice Cream is Born

That same year, Hall’s Ice Cream was founded when Mr. John Allen Hall made ice cream for his wedding to Sarah (Sally) DeLancey in 1947. Mr. Hall had attended classes in ice cream production at Penn State’s University Creamery and was so enthused about the quality of the ice cream produced there, that upon returning home to the family dairy outside Millerstown, Pennsylvania, he developed his own recipe using the same high quality ingredients.

The milk and ice cream business continued until John K.’s death in 1964. Following his father’s death, Hall’s Dairy merged with Miller Brothers’ Dairy in Millersburg and John Allen remained manager and ice cream maker at the Millerstown location.

In 1982, Miller Brothers’ sold the milk business to Harrisburg Dairies and the ice cream remained with John Allen.

Hall’s Today

John Allen Hall continued to make his trademark ice cream until 1994, when his health began to fail. In 1995, John Allen and Sally’s son, Allen R. Hall and daughter, Margaret (Peggy) Hall Raub assumed the operation of Hall’s Dairy. In November 2017, Peggy became the sole owner.

Today, we make over 40 flavors of premium ice cream and sherbet. Our premium ice cream, premium honey ice cream, premium no sugar added ice cream, and sherbets are made following the same process and using the same recipes since 1947.

Hall’s Ice Cream can be found in stores and restaurants across Central Pennsylvania, including in Perry, Juniata, Mifflin, Snyder, Northumberland, Dauphin, Cumberland, Lancaster, Lebanon, and Adams counties. Try some today!