1892 - Ithaca, New York:

Photo of Chester C. Platt
From the archives of the National Park Service's Morristown National Historic Park in New Jersey


Ithaca, New York also claims to be the birthplace of the ice cream sundae in 1892. Reportedly, Sunday afternoon, April 3,1892, after services at the Unitarian Church, Reverend John M. Scott paid his usual visit to the Platt & Colt Pharmacy in downtown Ithaca. Shop proprietor, Chester C. Platt (1869-1934), was church treasurer and he met often with Scott for conversation after services. Seeking refreshment for himself and the reverend, Platt asked his fountain clerk, DeForest Christiance, for two bowls of ice cream. But instead of serving the reverend plain vanilla, Platt took the bowls and topped each with cherry syrup and a candied cherry. The finished dish looked delightful and tasted delicious — so much so that the men felt obliged to name the new creation. After some debate, Scott suggested that it be named for the day it was created. Platt concurred and the first "Cherry Sunday" was born.

Ithaca has extensive documentation supporting the sundae's creation in its' town in 1892. The information is so specific, the city can almost pinpoint the exact hour the first ice cream "Sunday" was served. While other cities may claim the sundae, none can support its claim with primary evidence. This gives Ithaca title to the first documented ice cream sundae in the United States.

Two Ithaca high school seniors, Meredith Buchberg and Laura Willemsen, spent 6 months working as Corson Fellow interns at The History Center in Tompkins County in 2007, researching online data bases and physical archives to discover the "Sundae Truth." They researched and uncovered the below information to back up Ithaca's claim as "The Birthplace of the Sundae."


This ad in the Ithaca Daily Journal dates Platt & Colt's "Sunday" back at least to October 5, 1892. This ad in the Ithaca Daily Journal is the oldest known record of an ice cream sundae.