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By Raykel Dufresne, English Intern - Fall 2024
Ruth Graves Wakefield was born June 17, 1903, in Easton, MA. Her public schooling at the Oliver James High School in North Easton, MA. Afterward, she entered Framingham Normal School (now Framingham State University) in September 1921 and completed her schooling with a Household Arts Degree on June 12, 1924. She went on to teach Home Economics at Brockton High School and also worked as a hospital dietician.
In 1930 she and her husband, Kenneth Wakefield, purchased a house in Whitman, MA. The house, located about halfway between Boston and New Bedford, had originally been a tourist lodge, also known as a toll house, which acted as a stopover where those making the trip between the two cities could, for a toll, change horses and eat home-cooked meals. The couple decided to revert the house to a lodge and named it the Toll House Inn. Ruth had a passion for cooking since a young age and wanted to create a restful, homely, atmosphere that served the finest obtainable foods that were carefully cooked and nicely served. The Toll House started with 7 tables and within a few years, it had grown to 64 tables, serving 1,000 – 1,500 guests a day.
Mrs. Wakefield is credited with inventing the chocolate chip cookie recipe, originally called the Toll House Crunch Cookies. While experimenting with recipes and her love of baking, in 1937 she created this new cookie that quickly became popular with the guests, which led to the recipe being published in a Boston newspaper. Mrs. Wakefield eventually agreed with Nestle that the company would provide her with a lifetime supply of chocolate in exchange for the rights to the Toll House name and included the cookie recipe on each package of chocolate chips which is still done today.
Fun fact: In 1997, Massachusetts Governor William F. Weld, signed a bill designating the chocolate chip cookie as the official state cookie!
Since the beginning, Ruth began writing her recipes and publishing them in cookbooks, which went on to many editions. The Archives and Special Collections here at FSU have a 1938 signed edition of her book, Ruth Wakefield’s Toll House Cook Book, showing the first printing of the recipe. In the early 1970s, Ruth donated her beloved cookbooks to the college and they are housed in our Special Collections Dept. SC110 on the main floor of the library, items are non-circulating. Patrons can review any materials from Monday - Friday 9 am - 5 pm. We take great pride in displaying a few of the more interesting books in that collection.
Ruth sadly passed away on January 10, 1977, at the age of 73 and is buried in Mayflower Cemetery in Duxbury.
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