The History of York Peppermint Patties

In 1920, Henry Kessler opened the York Cone Company in York, Pennsylvania. In 1940, Kessler introduced York Peppermint Patties. York Cone Company employees originally conducted “snap tests” on the candies to ensure that they broke cleanly down the middle. Batches that didn’t break cleanly weren’t sold in stores. Instead, residents would come to the company’s Pine Street plant to pick up and enjoy the imperfect batches. In 1998, the York Cone Company merged with The Hershey Company. Today, Hershey still produces the famous dark-chocolate-and-peppermint treats, which remain very popular. In fact, there’s even a National Peppermint Pattie Day (celebrated on February 11th) and Hershey estimates that around 1.5 billion patties are made each year!