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.
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…