Toll House Inn facts for kids
The Toll House Inn was a famous place in Whitman, Massachusetts. It was started in 1930 by Kenneth and Ruth Graves Wakefield. This inn is super famous because the delicious chocolate chip cookies are named after it!
The Inn's Story
Even though its name sounds old, the Toll House Inn was not actually a toll house. A toll house is a place where people pay money to use a road. The building was built in 1817, not 1709. Using "toll house" and "1709" was a smart way to make the inn sound more historic and interesting. This was a clever marketing idea!
Ruth Wakefield was the main cook at the inn. She became very well-known for her amazing desserts. In 1936, she was making her butter drop dough cookie recipe. She decided to try something new. She cut up a bar of semi-sweet chocolate from Nestlé. Then she added the chocolate pieces to her cookie dough. This is how she invented the very first chocolate chip cookie!
Cookies Become Famous
The new chocolate chip cookies quickly became super popular. Ruth Wakefield contacted Nestlé, the chocolate company. They made a special deal. Nestlé would print her cookie recipe on the wrapper of all their semi-sweet chocolate bars. In return, Ruth would get a lifetime supply of chocolate from Nestlé.
Soon, Nestlé started selling chocolate chips especially for making cookies. Ruth Wakefield also wrote a cookbook called Toll House Tried and True Recipes. This book was printed 39 times because so many people wanted it!
What Happened to the Inn
Ruth Wakefield passed away in 1977. On New Year's Eve in 1984, a fire started in the kitchen of the Toll House Inn. The fire sadly burned the inn down. The inn was never rebuilt after that.
Today, the spot where the inn stood is at 362 Bedford Street. There is a special historical marker there. Now, a Wendy's restaurant and a Walgreens pharmacy are on that land. Even though the inn is gone, Nestlé still prints Ruth Wakefield's original recipe. You can find it on the back of every package of their Toll House Morsels chocolate chips.
