True Treats Historic Candy

True Treats Historic Candy Discover hundreds of remarkable candies at the nation's only historic candy store. Selections from 2 Ms. and parts of Canada.
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Welcome to True Treats, the nation’s only research-based candy store, where visitors can shop over 500 historic teas, candies, and confections from the first in history through Retro favorites of the mid-1900s. Our selections are based on the research of food historian and founder Susan Benjamin who focuses on candies and confections enjoyed by everyone, not just the wealthy few. The story of each

item is on our Web site as well as the labels and tags of each product. They’re also described Susan’s tenth book: “Sweet as Sin: The Unwrapped Story of how Candy Became America’s Favorite Pleasure” (Rowman & Littlefield, 2016). Susan and True Treats have appeared in numerous venues, such as a question on the quiz show Jeopardy, as well as History Channel’s “The Food that Build America,” PBS’ “Travels with Darley”, and the T.V. series “Boardwalk Empire,” where True Treats provided time-specific candy for the production. The Food Network, Best in State, Delish, and over 25 other places, included True Treats as best in state/ nation. In addition, True Treats was featured on such places as NPR’s The Splendid Table, Voice of America, and PBS’ Travels with Darley. Benjamin and her staff provide talks, tastings, and presentations to museums, libraries, and historic societies across the U.S. These include the Philadelphia Historical Society, the Smithsonian Museum of American History in Washington, D.C., the Black History Museum in Virginia and the Deadwood Museum in South Dakota. They also sell wholesale to museums and specialty stores everywhere from Mount Vernon to the Shaker Museum in New Hampshire and The Museum of the Bible. You can also find True Treats on their YouTube channel, and Tik Tok, Facebook, and Instagram pages. True Treats also posts hard-to-find recipes, historic candy facts and stories, old time ads and movies, and even more on their Web blog and column, “Susan Suggests.

06/19/2026

The Chocolate Tree
So why do I – a researcher of candy history – head for the Caribbean to do my work? A boondoggle, you might say? It isn’t a boondoggle, but it sure feels like one. That’s a good thing. But the truth is that candy is rooted in botanicals, going back thousands of years. And to get full measure of these essential contributors to candy history, I went to places in the Caribbean to see them up close. I interviewed farmers high in the mountains, and academics in museums. But the pivotal awakening came from the plants themselves. By far the most remarkable was the cacao tree. The flowers come directly from the bark, the leaves bend from the branch in what looks like sadness and grace, and they grow remarkably high. My love of plants – and cacao in particular - led me to grow them in West Virginia. Chocolate, Vanilla, Cashew, Kumquat, Macadamia, and Sapodilla used for the chicle in early American chewing gums…to name a few. Magnificent. Surprising. And informative. As for West Virginia weather? No worries. I have a greenhouse. Actually, two.

06/18/2026

Does Candy Make Kids Hyper?

06/17/2026

The story of milk chocolate is one of romantic love, tragedy, innovation, glory and fame. Itbegins with Daniel Peter, a Swiss candle-maker and confectioner. Sales of his chocolate hadslumped and he needed to figure something out. Then tragedy struck. His newborn baby wasdying as she couldn’t take mothers’ milk. Peters ran to the home of a pharmacist who wasworking on making infant formula. He reluctantly give the unfinished formula to Peters to tryout. The baby accepted it and survived. About five years later, Peters – the confectioner – and thepharmacist, figured out how to blend the formula with chocolate and create milk chocolate. Whowas the pharmacist? Henri Nestle. Based on the content in Susan’s award-winning book Sweet as Sin.

06/17/2026

Milk Chocolate

The story of milk chocolate is one of romantic love, tragedy, innovation, glory and fame. It
begins with Daniel Peter, a Swiss candle-maker and confectioner. Sales of his chocolate had
slumped and he needed to figure something out. Then tragedy struck. His newborn baby was
dying as she couldn’t take mothers’ milk. Peters ran to the home of a pharmacist who was
working on making infant formula. He reluctantly give the unfinished formula to Peters to try
out. The baby accepted it and survived. About five years later, Peters – the confectioner – and the
pharmacist, figured out how to blend the formula with chocolate and create milk chocolate. Who
was the pharmacist? Henri Nestle. Based on the content in Susan’s award-winning book!

Nestlé

06/16/2026

Visit truetreatscandy.com and receive a free gift with every purchase!

06/13/2026

Altoids and Flavignys are amazing candies. Altoids were made by a British company in the late 1700s and Flavignys by Benedictine Monks in 1591. Both were used medicinally, typically for coughs and stomach distress…as well as refreshment. Best of all, both were enjoyed by a range of people, not just the wealthy few. Altoids were sold in apothecaries, available to the public, while Benedictine Monks passed Flavignys on to royalty as well as impoverished pilgrims. As for the tin? Tins have been around in various iterations since the early 1700s. The festive Altoid and Flavigny tins? They are a 20th century creation. Great marketing, you must admit.


Altoids

Anis de Flavigny

06/12/2026

Susan GROWS her candy (plants)

SKY BAR! A few years back, I was contacted by a woman in Sudbury, Mass telling me she had bought the recipe for Sky Bars...
06/11/2026

SKY BAR!
A few years back, I was contacted by a woman in Sudbury, Mass telling me she had bought the recipe for Sky Bars – the first compartmentalized candy bar - which vanished when parent company NECCO closed down. In record time, she started a company to manufacture Sky Bars. Would I be interested in selling them at my store? ARE YOU KIDDING!! YES!! But first, the questions. Was she a confectioner? No. Did she ever work for a confectioner? No. Was she going to manufacture other candy bars…just in case? No. Ok, then. I told my employees this will never work, but put in an order anyway. Being from Massachusetts and having lived near the NECCO factory, how could I not?
So glad I did! Six years later, we are still buying and selling the much-loved, much sought after
Sky Bars and telling their story in the present tense!

06/11/2026

A few years back, I was contacted by a woman in Sudbury, Mass telling me she had bought the recipe for Sky Bars – the first compartmentalized candy bar - which vanished when parent company NECCO closed down. In record time, she started a company to manufacture Sky Bars. Would I be interested in selling them at my store? ARE YOU KIDDING!! YES!! But first, the questions. Was she a confectioner? No. Did she ever work for a confectioner? No. Was she going to manufacture other candy bars…just in case? No. Ok, then. I told my employees this will never work, but put in an order anyway. Being from Massachusetts and having lived near the NECCO factory, how could I not?
So glad I did! Six years later, we are still buying and selling the much-loved, much sought after
Sky Bars and telling their story in the present tense!

06/10/2026

SNICKERS was named after WHAT?!

Address

144 High Street
Harpers Ferry, WV
25425

Opening Hours

Monday 10:30am - 5:30pm
Tuesday 10:30am - 5:30pm
Wednesday 10:30am - 5:30pm
Thursday 10:30am - 5:30pm
Friday 10:30am - 5:30pm
Saturday 10:30am - 5:30pm
Sunday 10:30am - 5:30pm

Telephone

(304) 461-4714

Website

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