The Hershey bar, also known as The Great American Chocolate Bar, was the first mass-produced chocolate in the US. Its founder, Milton S. Hershey, built an entire community to serve the needs of his workforce, which eventually became the city of Hershey, a major tourist attraction. The Hershey Company has since expanded its line to include an assortment of candy bars, cookies, and brownies.
The Hershey bar is a chocolate candy made by The Hershey Company that has become something of an American icon. Also known as The Great American Chocolate Bar, the Hershey’s bar was the first example of mass-produced chocolate in the U.S. As the company’s founder eventually went on to become one of America’s wealthiest citizens and one of the most generous philanthropists of the 20 century, its start in business was considerably more modest. Indeed, at the age of 30, Milton S. Hershey underwent two previously unsuccessful attempts to make a living as a chocolate pastry chef and narrowly escaped bankruptcy. However, like his milk chocolate Hershey bar, the steadfast entrepreneur was destined for sweet success.
The legendary story of the Hershey’s bar and the man who made it famous is unusual and certainly inspiring on many levels. First, the creation of the bar itself was highly innovative, as until the early 1900s only the Swiss had mastered the art of large-scale milk chocolate production, and only the wealthy could afford to indulge. Second, when Hershey began operations as The Hershey Chocolate Company, it accomplished something no other business tycoon had done before or since – it built an entire city and community to serve the needs of the company’s workforce that eventually eventually it would become a chocolate-only world comparable to Disneyland.
The development of “company towns” was not unique to the industrialists of Hershey’s time. For example, coal mines and logging companies often built self-contained communities in which all real estate and services were owned by the parent company. However, Hershey’s take on what a company town should be is slightly different from that of his contemporaries. In fact, his vision benefited his hometown of Derry Church, Pennsylvania, where the Hershey Chocolate Company took off, including numerous schools, parks, and churches, as well as residential neighborhoods where company executives and workers resided. More than 100 years later, the city is now known as Hershey, it is a major tourist attraction complete with an amusement park, live music and theater performances, botanical gardens, golf courses and world-class restaurants and accommodations.
The original Hershey bar made its debut in 1900. However, the family of candy bars bearing the same name soon expanded to include the Hershey Almond Bar in 1908. It would be another seventy years before the line of specials dark chocolate bars made their appearance, followed by Hershey’s Kisses and an assortment of sandwich cookies and brownies beginning in the 1990s. The company’s website also offers giant candy bars 50 times the size of the classic Hershey’s bar, which can be custom-ordered to include a custom wrapper to extend a happy birthday greeting or thank-you message.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
