Carl R. Taylor

It remains unclear, but some historians claim that Canton, Ohio, residents Frank and Robert Menches invented the ice cream cone. In 1904, the Menches brothers were selling ice cream at the St. Louis World's Fair. According to the story, the brothers ran out of bowls in which to serve the ice cream. A few concession stands away, Ernest A. Hamwi, a pastry chef, was selling Zalabia, a Syrian pastry. The Menches brothers rolled the Zalabia, a flat pastry, into cones, and used them to hold the ice cream. Thus, they invented the ice cream cone.

Carl R. Taylor, a resident of Cleveland, Ohio, attended the World's Fair in 1904. He became fascinated with ice cream and the ice cream cone. He returned to Cleveland and spent the next twenty years developing a machine that could manufacture ice cream cones much more cheaply and quickly than the Menches brothers' process. On January 29, 1924, Taylor patented his machine. Soon thereafter, he formed the Ice Cream Cone Company to manufacture the cones. Eventually Norse Dairy Systems purchased the Ice Cream Cone Company. Today, Norse Dairy System continues to be the world's largest manufacturer of sugar cones. The company maintains a plant in Columbus, Ohio.