RiverRoots: Snacking Along the Susquehanna
River Roots is Susquehanna NHA’s blog series featuring history from York and Lancaster Counties that showcases the Susquehanna River’s historic, cultural, and natural resources contributions to our nation’s heritage.
Today, snacks have become so steeped into our modern daily lives that most people, while popping their preferred pretzels, chips, or chocolates, likely never take a moment to consider the origin of their favorite treat. But, the longevity of some of the most popular sweet and salty goodies from the Central Pennsylvania region may be surprising, with a number of them dating back commercially to the 1800s. Prior to commercial production, snack recipes were being created in homes of immigrant families bringing old world culinary traditions and recipes to their new world. Eventually, a perfect confluence would lead to the creation of some of the county’s—and even the nation’s—most beloved snack foods that have stood the test of time.
Anyone acquainted with Central PA knows that the rich agricultural farmlands are not just scenic rolling hills with verdant vistas but are also some of the most fertile lands on the east coast. This land offered immigrants coming from Europe an opportunity to start businesses, establishing and entrenching their popularity with local peoples. Benefitting both from their own cultural recipes that they brought with them, but also from others adapted by food grown in their new country. German immigrants that became the Pennsylvania Dutch (a corruption of Deutsch, meaning “German”) brought culinary techniques like handmade pretzels with them. Combine all of this with an ideal location, and their hard work ethic was soon to generate long-lasting success.
The factors that led to their initial success included fertile lands, enabling agriculture to thrive; the influence of hard-working immigrants; family-run businesses that established themselves in local-loving communities; and a location perfectly situated to take advantage of burgeoning distribution routes. Hanover, Pennsylvania, boasts the moniker of “Snack Food Capital of the World,” claiming the crown after these criteria formed the foundation that enabled the snacking industry to grow.
“The Pretzel Belt”
Crunchy, salty, and sometimes coated in a multitude of flavors, the ubiquitous pretzel—originally called brezels or bretzels by German immigrants—arrived in the United States in the 1700s, introducing a snack that would become woven into the fabric of American culture. Starting out as soft pretzels, they eventually became the hard style known popularly in bags at the grocery store today.
The pretzel first rolled by Julius Sturgis in 1861 was not only the first commercial pretzel baked in the country, but he is also credited as the progenitor of hard pretzels. Today the site, still at its original location in Lititz, remains a popular site to visit, with people posing for photos by the giant pretzel out front on the sidewalk. Products continue to be sold alongside tours of original equipment, demonstrations, and pretzel hand-twisting classes.
Additional popularity of the pretzel occurred when soldiers passing through during the Civil War noticed the flavor and convenience of the easily portable snack. After the war, saloons became another place that would distribute pretzels as a salty choice to accompany beer, and again the saloons loved that they were easy to store, transport, and serve. German immigrants also were frequently owners of the saloons.
Lancaster claims Hammond’s Pretzels, Martin’s Pretzels, and Auntie Anne’s. Hammond’s Pretzels is another business that continues to operate out of its original location. Founded in 1931 during the Great Depression, their sourdough pretzels remain handmade with a recipe that William Hammond had from the late 1880s. While they do not offer tours, due to the small space they use, visitors can watch them be hand-twisted both through the window, and while visiting their store. Pretzels can be bought while still warm, offering an experience that truly feels homemade.
Martin’s Pretzels, founded by Henry Martin in the 1930s, still employs original methods of hand-twisting; they have no machines. Made without oil, they say their pretzels are “harder” than others. Located in Akron, Pa, several varieties are available at their store, locally, or shipped.
Anyone who has ever visited a mall has likely enjoyed an Auntie Anne’s soft pretzel. in 1988 at a farmer’s market, Anne Beiler, with Pennsylvania Dutch roots, sold her first pretzels that would become internationally known. While the company has grown exponentially, Beiler hails from Lancaster, and the headquarters remained in downtown Lancaster for over thirty years. Tours and field trips are available at select locations with advanced notice.
Pretzels are so ingrained in the heritage of not just Central PA, but the entire state, boasting 80% of the nation’s famous snack manufacturing. To pay homage to the industry, Governor Ed Rendell declared April 26th National Pretzel Day in 2003. The feat seems extraordinary when imagining its humble ingredient origins, as well as the demanding labor by workers throughout the decades.
Potato Chips in the “Snack Capital”
Not to be outdone by the popular pretzel, potato chips have also made a name for themselves in Central Pennsylvania. Much debate surrounds the origin of the chip, but a story that persists gives credit to a chef in Saratoga Springs, New York, who worked at the Moon’s Lake House in 1849 named George Crum. True or false, the concept of frying a thinly sliced potato made its way down to Hanover, in York County, where it really took off.
Culinary techniques, hard work, and location aligned to allow the emergence of the next big snack from the area. The agricultural farmland and weather were perfect for growing just the right kind of “chipping” potato: one with low moisture and high carbohydrates (and sugar) like the Maris Piper, Kind Edward, and Rooster varieties. The Pennsylvania Dutch and their culinary preferences leaned heavily on pork products, recipes that are still popular today locally, like scrapple, sausage, and stuffed sow stomach. With this came lard, the fat that would fry a perfect chip and leave behind a preferred flavor over one cooked in vegetable oil. Many popular chips still use lard in some or all of their chip varieties.
Factor in that these immigrants were more likely to use mechanization techniques over local Germans living in Lancaster who leaned more towards the Amish and Mennonite way of life that avoided machines and opted for handmade methods. Rural wages remained lower than urban pay, but the reliability of both the jobs and the workers offered a dependable and symbiotic relationship. As many of these companies are still in business, they continue to provide steady opportunities for locals, and buyers of the products also remain loyal. In Pennsylvania, most stores, both grocery and convenient, carry a significant amount of Pennsylvanian-made snack items over more dominant brands that are sold across the country, like Frito-Lay.
Good’s Potato Chips, still selling today, started in Adamstown in 1886, is the first known commercial chip manufacturer. After that many followed including Wise Potato Chips in 1921; Utz Quality Foods, 1921; Hartley’s in 1935; Herr’s in 1946; Martin’s Potato Chips, 1941; Gibble’s in 1959; Bickel’s, 1954; and Zerbe’s in 1947. Helping to make the companies more successful, especially for York and Hanover, was the construction of the Pennsylvania Turnpike—opened in 1940—enabling their products to stretch to further audiences in more towns and even other states. Today, Pennsylvania has over 20 chip manufacturers of which 16 are independent.
“America’s Chocolate Capital” & Other Confections
Building further on the benefits of both the landscape and location, multiple confectionary and chocolate proprietors began crafting their commodities alongside other local snack giants. Both Lancaster and York found broad advantages with access to dairy farms producing milk, as well as the nearby ports of Philadelphia and Baltimore to provide the sugar. A dependable workforce was again imperative to the intrepid industries that would give the area another moniker: “America’s Chocolate Capital.” In addition to chocolate, a number of specialized candies were also produced in the area.
While discussing chocolate and early Pennsylvania industry, Hershey’s would probably be the first brand to come to mind. With international chocolate acclaim, and an eponymous town and school, his early roots might, however, be less well known. Starting out as a caramel candy maker, Milton Hershey started his first business, The Lancaster Caramel Company, in 1883. After attending the World’s Colombian Exposition in Chicago and seeing chocolate manufacturing, Hershey ordered equipment from Germany and began his path towards his fortune and legacy.
Though Milton Hershey remains a synonymous name with chocolate-making, Wilbur Chocolate, eventually created in Lititz, would make the first “kiss-shaped” chocolate, known as the Wilbur Bud, fourteen years before the foil-wrapped confection with the pull-tab created by Hershey. Wilbur still sells chocolate in Lititz today, (though the location originally used is now housing); their retail store across the street continues to allow visitors a view into employees crafting beloved creations.
Many other chocolate and candy creators cropped up from the late 1800s through the middle of the 1900s, but the impressive part is how many are still around today. Wolfgang Candy originally started in 1893 in York, though it went through several iterations of family members who owned it, and name modifications. After starting with hard candies, it eventually became a well-known maker of hand-made chocolates. Their initial claim to a broad audience was that they became a brand for fund-raising. Initially, local schools, churches, sports organizations, and charities would benefit from a significant percentage of sales of the products. Today, their model has changed, but they are still very much still producing chocolate.
Hailing from Lancaster since 1875 is Miesse Candies, originally delivered to customers via Daniel Miesse’s horse-drawn carriage. Caramels, taffies, nougats, and later chocolate, and chocolate-covered candies would become so popular, they are still available in Lancaster today. Though, under new ownership, a commitment to quality ingredients like real local butter, pure vanilla, and fresh cream pair with the craftmanship that customers have come to appreciate after decades of procurement. Visitors to the shop on Water Street can add a soda à la the 1930s, or ice cream fashioned from local ingredients.
Candy production was exceedingly popular in the area, often as a hard version before chocolates were even on anyone’s radar. A local favorite, the traditional clear toy candy began production with Regennas Candy in 1894 in the United States, though the formula is much older. German immigrants again brought this recipe with them, that potentially dates back as far as the 1700s. Before the local ports brought in cane sugar, they were “barley candy,” an inexpensive, locally available sweetener. The candy is made today the same as it was over 100 years ago, with a brass-based mold that allows a solid 3D shaped candy that can also have a lollipop stick. While the sugar composition has changed, heirloom shapes like trains, animal shapes, and seasonal favorites have persisted.
Two other notable creations are Y&S Candies with Twizzlers and York Peppermint Patties, both of which started as independent manufacturers before being acquired by Hershey Company. Y&S, known for Twizzlers, started in 1845 as Young & Smylie in Lancaster. Originally crafting licorice lozenges and chews, the Twizzlers Twists came along in 1929 at a time when lozenges and candy were traditionally hard. Looking for an alternative to soft-coated chocolate-covered peppermints, the York Peppermint Pattie, in 1940, aimed for a “snap,” a quality control test that aimed to set their product apart from others on the market. Both are still sold today.
Ice Cream
Dairy farms that dot the agricultural landscape of York and Lancaster used their resource to create yet another popular treat: ice cream. Today, in most cases, where there’s cows, there’s an ice cream shop. The list of current ice cream dairies is extensive, however it’s notable that the first commercial ice cream business is believed to have started in York. Currently a stop on the York County Heritage Rail Trail, Seven Valleys was home to C. Jacob Fussell’s commercial plant that began distributing ice cream in the mid-1800s. Seeing that the ingredients were readily available in York, he had an ice house built and began mixing local milk, eggs, and sugar and shipping his finished product on the Northern Central Railroad that went to Baltimore, his hometown After he moved, production remained at the location until the 1940s.
While numerous family dairies exist all over the two counties, Turkey Hill Dairy dominates the area. Despite its tremendous modern success, however, the dairy has very deep roots in the Columbia area, with the deed, written on vellum by Willam Penn’s sons. The farm, still known as Turkey Hill, said “Turkeyhill,” on the deed, with the original name bestowed by the Susquehannock Native Americans. Fast-forward to the 1940s when Armor Frey would sell the farm to his sons Glenn, Emerson, and Charles, who would milk the cows and then deliver the milk as a business. In 1980 the brothers started the ice cream business and took it to the next level. The rest is history.
Visitors to the area can visit the Turkey Hill Experience, a combination of history and hands-on fun concocting new flavors and testing tried-and-true flavors via unlimited samples. Options exist for visitors to add-on creating new flavors in the Taste Lab, an opportunity fun for all ages.
For a more traditional experience, stop by Pine View Dairy, Fox Meadow Creamery, or Perrydell Farm and Dairy to purchase goodies for on-the-spot enjoyment, or some to take home. Often these farms have opportunities to meet the cows and other farm animals.
Honorable Mention: Popcorn
There is no way to imagine Lancaster County without picturing corn fields, and while the corn can have several eventual outcomes, like livestock feed, corn syrup, or even fuel, Reist Popcorn Co. enjoys creating one the most beloved for snackers worldwide. Proof of that is their recent celebration of being in business for 100 years in 2025. Four generations continue providing several old favorites, as well as concocting new ways to enjoy popcorn. Now offering a few organic varieties of existing types, as well as Blue Popping Corn, there are new ways to enjoy a time-tested treat from the stove-top, an air popper, or the microwave.
While we may take many of these snacks for granted, at times we must reflect on our heritage and appreciate all the dedicated hard work that immigrants brought to the area. Without their recipes, ingenuity, and grit, we might never have known these foods or others. These snacks, while tasty, represent jobs that supported towns and communities, while at the same time created a long-lasting framework of both community and culture. Ultimately, food sustains us, but food also brings people together, and all of the aforementioned snacks certainly did just that.
- Visit local sites in our American Craftsmanship Itinerary