There's a town in Pennsylvania where the main drag is Chocolate Avenue and the town center is where it meets Cocoa Avenue. It's home to a famous chocolate company, an amusement park, and a school for thousands of kids. And it all exists because one man had a big idea about candy and community.
Here's the short answer. Milton S. Hershey's chocolate bars, first sold in 1900, were so popular that he could afford to build his own company town. Officially founded in 1903, Hershey was designed as an ideal place for his workers to live, with modern homes, a trolley, free schools, and parks. Over time, it became a major tourist attraction.
From Printer's Helper to Candy King
Milton Hershey's start was humble. He had no schooling beyond the fourth grade. In 1871, he was apprenticed to a printer but soon lost the job. At 14, his mother arranged for him to learn the candy trade from a confectioner in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where he studied for four years.
His first candy business, in Philadelphia, started in 1876. Success came later with the Lancaster Caramel Company. When he sold it in 1900, he used the money to buy farmland near his birthplace in Derry Township and create his own chocolate formula. The first Hershey bar came out that same year. Hershey's Kisses followed in 1907.
A Town Built Around Chocolate
Hershey's town was founded in 1903 and largely completed by 1905, mainly for his company's workers. Their homes had modern comforts that many Americans lacked at the time: electricity, indoor plumbing, and central heating.
The town had a public trolley, a free school for employees' children, and a free vocational school for orphaned and underprivileged boys. Later came an amusement park, golf courses, a community center, a hotel, and a zoo. The goal was a perfect American town where healthy, well-paid workers lived in safe, happy homes.
In 1903, around 700 people lived there. By 1920, it was 1,500, and by 1960, over 7,000.
Building Through Hard Times
When the Great Depression hit, Hershey didn't stop building. Many of the town's structures were financed during the Depression as part of his "Great Building Campaign," meant to give people jobs. Hersheypark Arena opened in 1936, and Hersheypark Stadium in 1939.
Those projects helped turn the town into a destination. Today, visitors flock to Hersheypark and Hershey's Chocolate World, a factory store with a virtual tour ride. The chocolate theme runs right through the map, too. U.S. Route 422, which passes through the center of town, is known there as Chocolate Avenue.
A Legacy That Keeps Giving
Milton Hershey and his wife, Kitty, founded the Hershey Industrial School in 1909, originally for local orphans. In 1918, he transferred most of his fortune, including control of his company, to a trust to support the school. Now called the Milton Hershey School, it served around 2,000 students as of 2016.
Here's a twist of fate, too. In 1912, the Hersheys had booked passage on the maiden voyage of the Titanic. They canceled at the last minute because of business matters and sailed on a different ship.
The original downtown chocolate factory closed in 2012, but the town still carries Milton Hershey's spirit. It's proof that a sweet idea, and a generous heart, can shape a whole community for generations.
