How it started
History
On April 28, 1905, the Pennsylvania Department of State issued a charter creating the Hershey Trust Company, which was incorporated by Milton S. Hershey, Harry Lebkicher and John E. Snyder. It provided banking services and mortgages to residents of Hershey and the surrounding Derry Township. In 1909, when Hershey founded the Milton Hershey School, he appointed Hershey Trust as administrator of the school trust.
In 1925, Hershey Trust established Hershey National Bank as a subsidiary to handle its commercial banking business, allowing the parent company to focus on the growing demands of managing the school trust.
Milton Hershey died in 1945 and bequeathed the stock of Hershey Trust to the Milton Hershey School Trust.
The company sold the Hershey Bank to PNC Financial in 1986. Meanwhile, the Hershey School Trust sold portions of its stock in Hershey Foods and diversified its assets, leading to an expansion in staff to manage a wider portfolio. With its larger staff and new expertise, the company in 1989 began actively seeking customers for private wealth management services. The Hershey Trust Company moved its offices to the Milton S. Hershey Mansion in 1991 to gain more space for its staff.
Hershey Trust's wealth management business was sold to Bryn Mawr Trust Co. in 2011 for $18 million.
From Wikipedia’s article on Hershey Trust Company, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.2