The Lost Legend: Massachusetts' Enigmatic Toll House Restaurant

In the small town of Whitman, located just south of Boston, there is a parking area situated between a Wendy’s and a Walgreens that features an intriguing sign.

It’s a big white wooden sign that displays an image of a Colonial-era bellman along with the numeral "1709." Viewed from afar, it appears rather unremarkable.

However, if you spend some time reading the inscription below, you'll discover that this site is where one of America's most renowned dishes was born.

This is where the original chocolate chip cookies were created.

To be precise, the monument indicates the site where the original Toll House Restaurant stood. In the 1930s, at this very spot, Ruth Graves Wakefield initially created what we now recognize as "Toll House" cookies.

However, this location has seen many roles beyond being famous for cookies. Throughout the last few hundred years, it has served as a personal abode, a frequent destination for the Kennedy clan, a lively nightclub, a place firefighters found particularly challenging, an abandoned plot described as looking terrible, and a refuge for aimless hippies.

However, at no time did it genuinely operate as a toll house.

Currently, it's just a modest parking area. This is how it arrived at this stage:

The Toll House Restaurant, Chapter 1 (1930-1968)

In 1930, Ruth and Kenneth Wakefield bought an old Cape Cod-style cottage for $6,500. This property, constructed in 1817, had been a private home up until a few years prior to their acquisition of it.

Despite plunging into the Great Depression, the Wakefields aimed to establish a restaurant offering nutritious meals in an amiable setting.

The initial eatery featured seven tables, along with one waitress and one chef. In just three years, the Toll House grew to include 64 tables and boasted serving as many as 2,000 visitors each day.

The Toll House achieved remarkable popularity, largely due to the exceptional service offered at the restaurant and Ruth Wakefield’s renowned desserts.

The Toll House received enthusiastic praise for its Boston cream pies and pecan rolls. However, Wakefield is particularly renowned for putting an inventive twist on a butterscotch nut cookie that came complimentary with ice cream orders.

It might be more familiar to you as the chocolate chip cookie.

A beloved choice among the renowned Kennedy clan of the state

As the Toll House gained more recognition, its customer base also expanded.

Among those who enjoyed meals there were boxing great Rocky Marciano, culinary authority Duncan Hines, Boston Mayor James Michael Curley, and U.S. Senator John F. Kennedy, later becoming President. It was said by one of the Toll House’s future proprietors that Kennedy frequented the establishment every week during his tenure as a senator.

According to Carolyn Wyman, who wrote "Damned Lies and Statistics," The Fantastic American Chocolate Chip Cookie Cookbook The future president's father, Joseph Kennedy Sr., "would go there twice a week" for years to satisfy his sweet tooth.

Why does the sign indicate 1709?

After the Wakefields bought the property, they found "1709" inscribed prominently on the chimney. This led many to assume that the structure dated all the way back to that time period.

This belief persisted until the 1970s when local historian Martha Campbell released a collection of articles and correspondences that exposed the legends surrounding the Toll House as false.

Campbell stated that Wakefield adopted the 1709 date and embraced it, aware of the importance of a "compelling narrative."

“She noted that there was nothing at this corner in 1709. There wasn't even a corner back then,” she penned.

In 1995, the Whitman Historical Commission released a book detailing the history of the Toll House, verifying that the initial structure was constructed in 1817.

Nevertheless, the "1709" date continues to appear in numerous locations, such as the plaque at the present-day Toll House monument.

The Toll House crumbles into ruins.

The Toll House continued as a landmark in Whitman up until 1968 when the Wakefields stepped down from their business ventures and transferred ownership of the place to the Noel family.

The new proprietors attempted to transform the eatery into a nightclub named Noel’s. This endeavor proved unsuccessful. By 1970, Noel’s had shut down, with the owners departing and abandoning the historically significant structure to deterioration.

As reported by the South Shore News, the interior sustained significant damage such as "large gaping plaster holes" along with "94 shattered windows."

The magazine went so far as to say that the original Toll House "turned into a refuge for roaming hippies."

The Toll House Restaurant, Chapter 2 (1973-1984)

In 1972, Frank and Carolyn Sacconne, who were married partners, bought the rundown property. They aimed to bring back the Toll House to its previous splendor.

Following extensive refurbishments, the Saccone family welcomed guests to a rejuvenated Toll House Restaurant in 1973.

In 1981, the new proprietors opted to capitalize on the restaurant’s significance in cookie lore by marketing "Toll House cookies" to retailers.

This drew the attention of Nestlé, who filed a lawsuit against the Saccone family regarding the "Toll House" trademark. In 1983, a federal judge determined that the phrase "Toll House cookie" had entered everyday usage—much like how terms such as 'thermos' and 'aspirin' have—and thus could not be protected by trademark law anymore.

The Toll House erupts into fire.

On the final moments of New Year’s Eve 1983, the complete history of the Toll House was consumed by fire.

Around 11:30 PM, shortly after the kitchen had shut down for the night, a grease fire erupted. Although an automatic fire suppression system activated, the blaze had already spread through the ductwork and up into the attic.

“It was a firefighter’s nightmare,” a fire chief told the Brockton Enterprise At that point, "The partitions lacked fire stops, and there were false ceilings throughout."

Firefighting units from Whitman along with those from four neighboring municipalities rushed to tackle the conflagration. Fortunately, nobody was injured during this incident. However, once the flames were finally contained, the Toll House had succumbed to the inferno.

Another try at making a comeback.

After two years since the fire, the Saccone family transferred ownership of the devastated Toll House site to Callahan Construction, which was then headquartered in Randolph as a general contracting company.

As reported by the Boston Globe, Callahan aimed to attract potential restaurateurs to revitalize the Toll House over a span of six years. However, after these efforts proved unsuccessful, the company shifted focus towards proposals involving fast-food outlets and condominiums.

"More than anyone else, we were eager to turn this place into a Toll House Restaurant," Steve Callahan stated to the Boston Globe back then.

Saying goodbye to the Toll House forever

The former back section of the Toll House property was converted into condos, known as the Toll House Village.

In 1993, the southern part of the property was sold to pave the way for a Wendy’s restaurant. This signaled the conclusion of an era in Whitman. By then, the Toll House site had become quite unsightly.

"I feel conflicted about the loss of the Toll House. However, it's preferable to have something rather than nothing," Dick Cole, who was the chairman of the Whitman Board of Selectmen, told the Boston Globe back then.

"I mean, currently, the website looks terrible," he said.

Wendy’s made an agreement with the town of Whitman to showcase clippings and photographs of the former Toll House as part of constructing the restaurant. However, by 2024, Wendy’s had ceased displaying any materials connected to the Toll House.

The drive to establish a monument - spearheaded by an aspiring gubernatorial candidate.

Geoff Diehl He is a previous Massachusetts state representative and aspirant for the governorship who currently holds office on the Republican State Committee.

Many years back, he lived in the Whitman area and was employed at Poiyant Signs located in New Bedford. Every time he passed by the location of the Toll House sign, he felt annoyed. Despite working for a signage business, he couldn’t find a chance to address the issues with the Toll House sign himself.

As late as 2006, Walgreens sought permission from the town of Whitman to construct a pharmacy on the northern part of the initial Toll House site.

The town officials agreed but with certain stipulations. Walgreens would have to handle the upkeep of both the landmark and the signage.

Diehl took advantage of the situation and reached out to his company as well as the Whitman Historic Commission with a proposal to refurbish the sign. Shortly thereafter, Nestle enhanced the proposition by pledging $25,000 towards the initiative.

The sign had taken a beating over the years. Some of the lettering had fallen off and the bell ringers were rotting.

Poiyant Signs was responsible for restoring the bulk of the sign, including the numbers. But those hand-card wooden bell ringers? They had to be sent to a specialist — Hassan Wood Carving & Sign in Cohasset for months of repairs.

Diehl stated that the aim of the restoration initiative was to preserve as much of the sign as feasible. Although the design remains entirely identical to how it appeared in 1984, approximately half of the materials used are from the original structure, according to him.

As his contribution to the restoration initiative, Diehl was honored with an accolade from the municipality of Whitman and was invited to become a member of a local board. This opportunity resulted in him securing a position on the Whitman Finance Committee and ultimately propelled him into the political sphere.

"I suppose one might say that the Toll House sign ultimately guided me towards Beacon Hill," Diehl stated.

By 2007, the sign had undergone complete restoration and was set up alongside a monument detailing the history of the Toll House restaurant.

Walgreens stated in an official release that it holds sole ownership of the property where this iconic site stands. They continue to bear responsibility for maintaining it. During 2021, the sign went through yet another round of restoration work. Additionally, new lighting was installed to enhance the visibility and presentation of the monument.

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