On November 15, 1909, Milton Hershey and his wife Catherine established a boarding school for orphan boys to be located at the Homestead, Milton Hershey’s birthplace. To fund the school, Hershey also created the Milton Hershey School Trust and endowed it with 486 acres of farmland. The school’s initial enrollment was ten students.

As the school grew, more buildings and programs were added. In 1951, the school’s name was changed to Milton Hershey School, and in 1976 its Deed of Trust was altered to allow the enrollment of girls as well. Today, the school provides a free K-12 education and a home on a 9,000-acre campus to more than 1200 underprivileged boys and girls.