where was the first hamburger made
There is no single agreed‑upon answer for where the very first hamburger was made, but several places in the United States claim the honor, and historians generally say the true origin is uncertain.
Where Was the First Hamburger Made?
Because different people defined “hamburger” in slightly different ways (Hamburg steak on a plate, meat between bread, meat on a bun, etc.), you get multiple “firsts” rather than one clear birthplace.
The Main Claimants
Here are the best‑known locations that claim to be where the first hamburger was made in the U.S.:
- Hamburg, New York (Menches brothers, 1885) – Frank and Charles Menches reportedly ran out of pork at a fair in Hamburg, New York, so they used ground beef in their sandwiches instead and named it a “hamburger” after the town.
- Seymour, Wisconsin (Charlie Nagreen, 1885) – “Hamburger Charlie” is said to have flattened a meatball and served it between slices of bread at the Seymour Fair so people could walk and eat, calling it a hamburger after Hamburg steak familiar to German immigrants.
- Athens, Texas / St. Louis World’s Fair (Fletcher Davis, 1880s–1904) – Historian Frank X. Tolbert credits Fletcher “Old Dave” Davis with serving hamburgers at his café in Athens, Texas in the late 1880s, then popularizing them at the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair.
- Tulsa, Oklahoma (Oscar Weber Bilby, 1891) – The Bilby family claims that Oscar Bilby served the first hamburger on a bun on his farm near Tulsa on July 4, 1891; in 1995 the Oklahoma governor proclaimed Tulsa the “Real Birthplace of the Hamburger.”
- New Haven, Connecticut (Louis’ Lunch, 1900) – Louis Lassen allegedly put ground steak trimmings between two slices of toast for a rushed customer in 1900; Louis’ Lunch still markets itself as the birthplace of the hamburger sandwich.
Quick location table
Note: There is no universal consensus; these are competing origin stories, not settled facts.
| Claimed “first” hamburger | Approx. year | Location | Key detail |
|---|---|---|---|
| Menches brothers sandwich | 1885 | Hamburg, New York, USA | [7][1][5]Ground beef sandwich at a fair, named for the town Hamburg. | [1][5][7]
| Charlie Nagreen’s fair burger | 1885 | Seymour, Wisconsin, USA | [3][5]Flattened meatball in bread so customers could walk and eat. | [5][3]
| Fletcher Davis café burger | Late 1880s (popularized 1904) | Athens, Texas & St. Louis World’s Fair, USA | [1][5]Café burger later shown at the 1904 World’s Fair. | [5][1]
| Oscar Bilby bun burger | 1891 | Tulsa area, Oklahoma, USA | [3][1][5]Grilled patty on a yeast bun; Oklahoma later declared Tulsa the “Real Birthplace.” | [1][3][5]
| Louis’ Lunch sandwich | 1900 | New Haven, Connecticut, USA | [9][4][5][1]Ground steak between toast for a rushed customer; still sold today. | [4][9][5][1]
Why the Answer Is Messy
- Terminology shift – “Hamburg steak” (a chopped or ground beef patty associated with Hamburg, Germany) existed in the 1800s before anyone put it in bread and called it a sandwich.
- Poor documentation – Local stories are based on family lore, later newspaper write‑ups, and civic pride, not clear contemporaneous proof.
- Different definitions of “first” – Some claims are about the first patty on bread, others about the first on a bun, and others about the first widely popular version.
If you imagine a timeline, Hamburg‑style beef travels from Germany to the U.S., becomes Hamburg steak in restaurants, then slowly morphs into a portable sandwich with bread or a bun at fairs, cafés, and lunch counters in multiple towns at roughly the same period.
So, What Should You Say?
If you need a one‑line, honest answer for “where was the first hamburger made,” you can phrase it like this:
The first true hamburger’s origin is disputed, but the strongest and most often cited early U.S. claims come from Hamburg (New York), Seymour (Wisconsin), Athens (Texas), Tulsa (Oklahoma), and New Haven (Connecticut), all in the late 1800s to early 1900s.
TL;DR: No one can prove exactly where the first hamburger was made, but multiple American towns—especially Hamburg, New York; Seymour, Wisconsin; Athens, Texas; Tulsa, Oklahoma; and New Haven, Connecticut—compete for the title, and historians generally treat the burger’s birthplace as unresolved.
Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.