Lancaster Caramel Company facts for kids
The Lancaster Caramel Company was a candy business started by Milton S. Hershey in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in 1886. It was his first successful candy company. This company helped Milton Hershey become well-known before he created the famous Hershey's chocolate.
Contents
The Start of a Sweet Business
Milton Hershey first set up his caramel company in a warehouse. This place was on South Duke Street in Lancaster. However, it didn't have the right equipment to cook caramels. So, Hershey soon moved his business to an old factory. This factory was on Church Street and used to be an electric plant.
The first few months were very hard for the company. But then, a candy importer from Britain placed a big order. Also, a bank helped Hershey get a loan. This allowed him to buy the supplies he needed. As the business grew, Hershey used more parts of the factory building. By 1894, the Lancaster Caramel Company had about 1,300 workers.
Growing Across the Country
In 1891, Hershey bought some land and a small factory. This was in Mount Joy, Pennsylvania. The new factory quickly started making caramels. In 1892, the Lancaster Caramel Company grew even more. It opened a new branch in Chicago. This branch later moved to Bloomington, Illinois. The Bloomington factory made caramels until 1900. It was then sold to another company. Soon after opening the Chicago branch, Hershey started a third caramel factory. This one was in Reading, Pennsylvania.
Selling the Caramel Business
The Lancaster Caramel Company officially became a corporation on February 8, 1894. At this time, the Hershey Chocolate Company was also created. It was a smaller company owned by the caramel business. In the spring of 1900, Milton Hershey thought caramels were just a passing trend. He believed that chocolate had a much bigger future.
So, he sold his entire caramel business. This included the factory, machines, candy recipes, and all the caramels he had. He sold it for $1 million in cash to the American Caramel Company. Milton Hershey kept only the Hershey Chocolate Company. He also kept the chocolate-making equipment. This allowed him to focus completely on making chocolate.
The American Caramel Company
How It Began
The American Caramel Company grew from a business started in 1867. Peter C. Wiest was a pioneer in making caramels. He built a very successful company. In 1878, Daniel F. Lafean joined as a partner. Their company was called P. C. Wiest & Company. Peter C. Wiest later retired from the business. In 1895, the P. C. Wiest Company became a corporation. Daniel F. Lafean was its president.
Lafean was key in creating the American Caramel Company. It was formed on March 28, 1898. This happened when the Breisch-Hine Company from Philadelphia merged with The P. C. Wiest & Company from York, Pennsylvania. The main office of the American Caramel Company was in York.
Becoming Famous
The American Caramel Company became very famous after buying the Lancaster Caramel Company in 1900. They became well-known for including baseball and other cards with their candies. With the addition of the Lancaster Caramel Company, the American Caramel Company became huge. They controlled about 90% of all the caramels made in the country.
The American Caramel Company was one of the first businesses to put Baseball Cards with their products. In December 1928, the American Caramel Company closed its York Plant. They moved their candy-making machines to a more modern factory.
See also
In Spanish: Lancaster Caramel Company para niños
