The G. H. Bent Company, better known as Bent's Cookie Factory and recognized as bakers of "cold water crackers" since 1801, was a business specializing in
cookie
A cookie is a sweet biscuit with high sugar and fat content. Cookie dough is softer than that used for other types of biscuit, and they are cooked longer at lower temperatures. The dough typically contains flour, sugar, egg, and some type of ...
s that operated in
Milton, Massachusetts
Milton is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Milton is an immediate southern suburb of Boston, Massachusetts. The population was 28,630 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census.
Milton is located in the relatively hilly ...
for over two centuries. Bent's also sold a number of other baked goods, including their George and Martha Washington pies (both had powdered sugar on the top, the George with a cherry filling, and the Martha with a lemon filling). In 2017, Bent's expanded its menu to include a variety of sandwiches named after Milton-based themes and discontinued baking their signature hardtack crackers. Soon thereafter, the business closed and the original 1801 mill turned into a mixed use residential and commercial space.
History
Josiah Bent began selling "
water crackers" (biscuits made of flour and water that would not deteriorate during long sea voyages) in 1801 from facilities in Milton. His company later sold the original
hardtack
Hardtack (or hard tack) is a type of dense Cracker (food), cracker made from flour, water, and sometimes salt. Hardtack is inexpensive and long-lasting. It is used for sustenance in the absence of perishable foods, commonly during long sea voyage ...
crackers used by troops during the
Civil War
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
.
His grandson, George H. Bent, built the -story wood-frame factory building at 7 Pleasant Street. The top two levels of the factory retain the historic signage and were where the cookies and other baked goods were made; the storefront was at street level.
On February 10, 2000, the G.H. Bent Company Factory was added to the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
.
In April 2001, Senator
Ted Kennedy
Edward Moore Kennedy (February 22, 1932 – August 25, 2009) was an American lawyer and politician from Massachusetts who served as a member of the United States Senate from 1962 to his death in 2009. A member of the Democratic Party and ...
visited G.H. Bent Company to unveil the official National Register plaque and make remarks in honor of the bicentennial of the Bent cracker.
See also
*
References
External links
*
. H. Bent Company website.br>
Milton Times article on ownership change
Food and drink companies based in Massachusetts
Bakeries of Massachusetts
Industrial buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts
Milton, Massachusetts
National Register of Historic Places in Milton, Massachusetts
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