The F. W. Woolworth Company (often referred to as Woolworth’s or Woolworth) was a retail company and one of the original pioneers
of the five-and-dime store. It was among the most successful
American and international five-and-dime businesses, setting
trends and creating the modern retail model that stores follow
worldwide today.

The first Woolworth store was opened by Frank Winfield Woolworth
on February 22, 1879, as “Woolworth’s Great Five Cent Store” in
Utica, New York. Though it initially appeared to be successful, the
store soon failed. When Woolworth searched for a new location,
a friend suggested Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Using the sign from
the Utica store, Woolworth opened his first successful “Woolworth’s Great Five Cent Store” on July 18, 1879, in Lancaster. He brought
his brother, Charles Sumner Woolworth, into the business.

The two brothers pioneered and developed merchandising, direct purchasing, sales, and customer service practices commonly
used today.

Frank Winfield Woolworth
(April 13, 1852 – April 8, 1919)

Original Hershey bar.

Milton Snavely Hershey (September 13, 1857 – October 13, 1945)

Businessman and philanthropist Milton Hershey founded the Hershey Chocolate Company in 1894. He supplied chocolates for the U.S. troops during WWII. They
were called Ration D Bars rather than Hershey’s Bars. Hershey helped out on 
the family farm as a young boy. When he was in his 20s, he would accompany
his father on business trips. He started his own candy company in 1876, but
it failed within six years. Hershey moved to Denver. CO  and worked with a
confectioner, where he discovered the secret of making caramels…fresh
milk.

Hershey Chocolate Factory.

Today, Milton Hershey’s mansion serves as the headquarters for
Hershey Foods Corporation. Hershey is still the home of the
world’s largest chocolate and cocoa manufacturing plant.