In honor of May serving arbitrarily as National Hamburger Month, I thought I’d delve into the history of the hamburger. As it turns out, I didn’t have to look beyond the state.
Seymour, Wis., about 15 miles west of Green Bay, calls itself the “Home of the Hamburger.” That’s because in 1885, Seymour resident Charlie Nagreen flattened his poor-selling meatballs, put them between two slices of bread and sold them as hamburgers at the Outagamie County Fair, according to What’s Cooking America.
The town recognized the achievements of Hamburger Charlie, who sold burgers until his death in 1951, by building a Hamburger Hall of Fame. In addition, Seymour has a Burger Festival on the first Saturday of every August, complete with a parade, ketchup slide and of course, a hamburger eating contest (this year it’s a Hardee’s Thick Burger eating contest!).
Also worth noting is that in 2007, the State of Wisconsin declared “Seymour, Wisconsin, the Original Home of the Hamburger.”
I’m excited to renew my annual Place with the Best Hamburgers Contest, which the Village Green won last year. Hope you vote!
Tags: burgers
I didn’t know burgers were invented in WI! That just makes our state that much more awesome!