The Mars Wrigley Confectionery, LLC (MWC) recently awarded Fort Ticonderoga the Forrest E. Mars Jr. Chocolate History Grant for a project entitled A Sea of Chocolate: Cocoa Cargoes in the Anglo Atlantic to research and develop a new program highlighting chocolate consumption and distribution by the British Royal Navy on Lake Champlain. The $10,000 grant supports research on naval history and the transportation of chocolate found in manuscript, archaeological, and object collections. The grant will also fund the development of educational program material to be utilized for student programs and for the general public; and the implementation of the new chocolate maritime initiative in 2018 at Fort Ticonderoga.
“Fort Ticonderoga is extremely grateful to Mars Wrigley Confectionery US, LLC (MWC) and especially the Heritage Chocolate Society established by Forrest E. Mars Jr. for this generous grant,” said Beth L. Hill, Fort Ticonderoga President and CEO. “Forrest was passionate about chocolate and history. We are so thrilled to have this opportunity to engage our growing audience in the history of chocolate at Ticonderoga and connect its story to the broader Atlantic world in the 18th century. We are committed to partnering with the Heritage Chocolate Society to further study and communicate chocolate’s rich history and its role on past and present cultures.”
During the 1781 Campaign featured in 2018 at Fort Ticonderoga, visitors will discover how chocolate was shipped and prepared for British sailors and soldiers at Ticonderoga. “Being a tropical crop shipped across the ocean, chocolate is an essential tool to express the strategic importance of Ticonderoga along the water corridor of Lake Champlain and the Hudson River in 1781,” said Stuart Lilie, Fort Ticonderoga Vice President of Public History and Operations. “This educational initiative will integrate new research and American Heritage Chocolate produced by Mars Wrigley Confectionery (MWC) into a lively program along the shores of Lake Champlain for students and other visitors alike who will learn about chocolate and the broader network of trade that connected Lake Champlain to the Atlantic world in the 18th century.”
America’s Fort is a registered trademark of the Fort Ticonderoga Association.
Photo: Fort Ticonderoga recently was awarded a Forrest E. Mars, Jr. Chocolate History Research Grant at the 14th Annual banquet dinner of the Heritage Chocolate Society held at The Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. The Heritage Chocolate Society, formally known as the Colonial Chocolate Society, is a group whose mission is to further the study and communication of chocolate’s rich history and its impact on past and present cultures in the Americas.
Photographed (L-R): Gail Broadright, Director Sponsorships and Family Properties Mars-Wrigley Confectionery; Beth L. Hill, President and CEO, Fort Ticonderoga; Jacqueline Mars; Stuart Lilie, Vice President of Public History and Operations, For Ticonderoga; Jacomien Mars; and Berta de Pablos Barbier, President of Mars-Wrigley Confectionery U.S.