When the name "Milton Hershey" is spoken, one tends to think of Hershey Chocolate Bars and Hershey, Pennsylvania. What may not be known by many is that Milton Hershey's initial candymaking success began in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, with the formation of the Lancaster Caramel Company.

Milton Snavely Hershey was born on September 13, 1857 near Derry Church, Pennsylvania and was raised in the Mennonite faith. His family moved frequently as his father pursued one unsuccessful business venture after another. As a result, Mr. Hershey's formal education suffered.

In 1871, Mr. Hershey left school to apprentice for a local printer. He quickly discovered this was not his niche. His mother arranged for him to apprentice with a candy maker in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He stayed there for four years while he was a teenager. He subsequently travelled to Colorado and learned the fine art of caramel making using fresh milk. Thereafter, he attempted to build candy making businesses in various large cities, but failed. He returned to Lancaster in 1883 and created the Lancaster Caramel Company. At last he became a success. His product was shipped to various locations in the United States and Europe.

Following the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition, Mr. Hershey bought chocolate-making equipment and installed it in his Lancaster plant. He then began producing sweet chocolate and cocoa for flavoring and coating his caramels under Hershey Chocolate Company. He sold excess chocolate to other candy makers. All the while, he continued to work on a formula to produce milk chocolate. In 1900, Mr. Hershey decided to devote his time solely to making milk chocolate and sold the Lancaster Caramel Company for $1 million.

Even though his first success as a candy maker was in Lancaster, he returned to the area where he grew up, Derry Churh, to find property and begin building a factory to mass produce his milk chocolate. By 1905, his new factory in Derry Church was complete and production began on individually wrapped Hershey's chocolate bars. Derry Church was subsequently renamed Hershey.

Milton Hershey was much more than a candy maker. He wanted to create a community for his workers to provide for their welfare. Houses were built for his workers. The Cocoa House was built as the town center. In addition, a department store, a convention hall, an amusement park, a swimming pool and many schools were built. Education was important to Mr. Hershey since he hadn't had the opportunity to receive a full education. In fact, he and his wife founded the Hershey Industrial School in the early 1900's for orphaned boys. The school now provides a free education for financially needy boys and girls and has been renamed the Milton Hershey School. In 1918, Mr. Hershey transferred the bulk of his ownership in Hershey Chocolate Company and other enterprises to the Hershey School Trust for the benefit of the school.

Milton Hershey passed away in 1945 at the age of 88, but his legacy remains.

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