I found a few citations, but the most concise was this one from Wikipedia: “Ruth Wakefield educated at Framingham State Normal School Department of Household Arts in 1924. She worked as a dietitian and lectured about foods. In 1930, she and her husband bought a tourist lodge in the town of Whitman, Massachusetts in Plymouth County. It had been built in 1709, and had a rich history of providing a night’s solace to weary travelers. Located about halfway between Boston and New Bedford, it was a place where passengers had historically paid a toll, changed horses and eaten much-welcomed home-cooked meals. When the Wakefields opened their business, they named the establishment The Toll House. They took it upon themselves to uphold the lodge’s tradition. Ruth cooked and served all the food and soon gained local fame for her desserts. The restaurant had many visitors including Massachusetts’ Senator John F. Kennedy (before he gained the U.S. presidency in 1960).”
Chocolate Food for Thought
I read that the first chocolate chip cookie supposedly originated in 1930 at the Toll House Inn in Whitman, Massachusetts where Ruth Wakefield added some chocolate to a shortbread batter hoping it would melt forming a chocolate shortbread. Many generations later, the chocolate chip cookie fans are grateful that those chocolate bits didn’t melt.
I’ve been there many a time 🙂