At the turn of the century, most industrial facilities were located in urban population centers and transportation hubs (such as Pittsburgh with its steel mills or New York’s garment factories). But when it came to selecting a site for his chocolate plant, Milton Hershey chose rural Derry Township in south-central Pennsylvania.

For one thing, it was right in the heart of Pennsylvania’s dairy farming country and, therefore, close to the source of an essential ingredient in the making of milk chocolate: milk. It was also near the port cities of Philadelphia and New York from which imported cocoa beans and sugar could be obtained. Finally, the region was populated by honest, industrious folk. Exactly the kind of workforce every business owner dreams of.