FOOD NEWS
The Oldest Candy Company In The US Has Been Producing Sweets Since 1806
BY MATTHEW SPINA
Salem, Massachusetts is home to the oldest candy company in America, Ye Olde Pepper Companie, which has been selling its old-school wares since 1806.
The business began with Mary Spencer, a woman from England who sailed to America only to be stranded in Salem after a shipwreck. By chance, she was a confectioner by trade.
With the help of neighbors, Spencer created one of the company's first successful treats, Salem Gibraltars, a lemon-flavored candy that is still sold today.
Spencer passed the company to her son, who sold it to the family that would lend it its name: Pepper. They helped guide the company to great success in the 19th century.
In their Peabody. Massachusetts manufacturing plant, the Pepper family produced another famous candy, Black Jacks, the first popular stick-shaped candy in the U.S.
The business was sold to George Burkinshaw in the early 20th century. His family still owns Ye Olde Pepper Companie today, currently run by a fourth generation of the family.