Did Wisconsin Really Invent The Ice Cream Sundae?

The very first ice cream sundae was apparently made in Wisconsin in 1881.

I say "apparently" because there's another city in another state, far away, that is making the same claim. Ithaca, New York, claims to have invented the sundae in 1892, albeit a few years after Wisconsin's claim.

Anyway, What's Cooking America says Wisconsin resident George Hallauer wanted an ice cream soda, but back in the day, indulgences like soda weren't allowed on Sundays. So that's where Hallauer asked druggist Edward Berners to pour chocolate syrup over ice cream, and voila, the ice cream sundae was born.

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a glass of ice cream with a cherry on top

Wisconsin vs. New York’s Claim to the Original Sundae

Seems open and shut, right? Well, Berners would've been 18 when he made the very first sundae, which makes him quite young to be a store owner, making people quite skeptical of the claim.

That's all Ithaca has going for it, because it has stronger written documentation, but that hasn't stopped the Wisconsin Historical Society from laying claim, saying Two Rivers is the home of the original sundae.

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Hand holding a sundae with whipped cream and cherry.

How a Rules-Bending Order Birthed a Classic

Twenty years ago, Two Rivers passed a firmly tongue-in-cheek resolution telling Ithaca to stop claiming they were the first sundae town.

I'm going with Two Rivers on this one. It's just too weird to say you were the first and stick by it if it wasn't true. I mean, after all, it's just a sundae. Then again, a good sundae could be life-changing.

Two Rivers is three hours from Rockford. It might be worth the drive to see what these sundaes are all about.