Milton Hershey wanted to make his new community an attractive place to live, so he made sure it provided more than merely the basic necessities. The first building constructed after the factory itself was the Cocoa House located at the intersection of Chocolate and Cocoa Avenues. It originally served as the town center and included a store, bank, post office, boarding rooms and lunchroom.

Hershey also provided for a laundry, a blacksmith shop, a printing plant, a café, a department store and a barber shop. Companies were started to supply water, electric power, sewage and telephone service. In 1909, he even launched a weekly newspaper, the Hershey Press.