Despite being based in rural Pennsylvania, Milton Hershey discovered his now-famous milk chocolate recipe in Chicago at the World’s Columbian Exposition in 1893?

While on a work-related trip to the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago, Hershey stumbled upon a German chocolate maker’s exhibit. At the time, Hershey was only producing caramel confections. Deciding that chocolate was the way of the future, Hershey purchased the entire exhibit on the spot and had it shipped back to his factory in Lancaster, PA. The rest is history.

Learn more:
The history of the Hershey Bar
A brief history of chocolate
The 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition