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 baked or cooked snack or dessert that is typically small, flat and sweet. It usually contains flour, sugar, egg, and some type of oil, fat, or butter. It may include other ingredients such as raisins, oats, chocolate chips, nu ...

s that operated in

Milton, Massachusetts Milton is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States and an affluent suburb of Boston. The population was 28,630 at the 2020 census. Milton is the birthplace of former U.S. President George H. W. Bush, and architect Buckminster Fuller. ...

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 crackers used by troops during the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same 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 polici ...

. 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 United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

. In April 2001, Senator

Ted Kennedy Edward Moore Kennedy (February 22, 1932 – August 25, 2009) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States senator from Massachusetts for almost 47 years, from 1962 until his death in 2009. A member of the Democratic ...

visited G.H. Bent Company to unveil the official National Register plaque and make remarks in honor of the bicentennial of the Bent cracker.

References

External links

* . H. Bent Company website.br>Milton Times article on ownership change
Food and drink companies based in Massachusetts Bakeries of the United States Industrial buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts Milton, Massachusetts National Register of Historic Places in Milton, Massachusetts {{NorfolkCountyMA-NRHP-stub

History

See also

References

External links