Building History

It seems as though Hershey was known for more than just chocolate. In an effort to create job opportunities, Milton Hershey commissioned the Hershey Lumber Company to build the Hershey Abbatoir building (aka Old Post Office building) in early 1936. Construction began in January and was completed in October of that same year. The Hershey Abbatoir processed and sold meats. Their business grew and the building was expanded decades later in 1967.

Operations continued under the Hershey Abattoir name until 1976 when the Hershey Estates, which administered all of the non-chocolate interests in town, changed the name to Hershey Meats. Production continued here until Hershey Meats consolidated operations with two other divisions in a new facility on Airport Road in June of 1980. This is when the Meats business left the original Abattoir building.

In addition to processing meats, Mr. Hershey decided he wanted to make cocoa butter soap.  Since he did not like anything to go to waste, he thought making soap was a great way of dealing with the millions pounds of surplus cocoa butter created by the factory every year. Sometime around the end of 1936, he told Hershey Estates to begin production.  Machinery was purchased and installed on the second floor of the Abbatoir building. In 1937, this original experimentation and production took place in the Abattoir building and is believed to have continued until December of 1941 when the Cocoa Butter Extraction Plant was opened and production was moved to the new facility.

There is a gap from 1980, when the meat production ceased, until 1984 when the Post Office opened inside the building.  Post Office operations continued until 2015 when it was then moved to a temporary trailer outside of the building closer to Chocolate Avenue.  In addition to the Post Office, the Hershey Laundry moved into the Abattoir building around the time their original location was torn down in 2006.  The Laundry moved out of the building and into the Press Building around the same time the Post Office moved into the trailer in 2015.

Now our mission is to continue the legacy of this beautiful building for decades to come. Our hope is that the Fresh Market will be a place for families and friends to come together, make memories and start traditions all while enjoying what our local vendors have to offer. We hope you will join us!

Let’s together bring the old Abattoir building back to life with the Fresh Market at Hershey Towne Square.