From the archive · 1958
M&M/Mars comes to town, 1958
The town's own welcome sign, held up by the M&M's. In Hackettstown, the candy and the town share one identity.
Photograph by January O'Neill
Ask anyone in America what Hackettstown is famous for, and the answer comes wrapped in a candy shell.
In 1958 — one year before Fiedler Real Estate opened its doors down the street — M&M/Mars opened its manufacturing plant in Hackettstown. The plant has been making M&M’s here ever since, and the company’s presence reshaped the town: jobs, families, houses, schools — the whole geography of a growing community.
For a real estate firm founded the following year, Mars wasn’t just a neighbor. It was the engine behind a generation of the town’s growth — and behind a great many of the front doors this firm has helped open since.
Have photographs of the plant’s early years, or memories of working there? This story will grow with them — tell us.
The Mars Wrigley building in Hackettstown — the town has made M&M's here since 1958.
Photograph by January O'Neill
Sources
- Mars, Incorporated — company history