We think of Taffy as an American creation and tradition. No one knows exactly when or where it was created. While many people date it to the Atlantic City Boardwalk, in the 1880s, taffy was around much earlier. The first time the word “taffy” occurred in print was in 1817 in the Oxford English Dictionary. So, we know it was around before 1817. And it perhaps was first created in England. 

One thing we know for certain is that Taffy was popularized on the boardwalk of Atlantic City, NJ in the early 1880s. Several candy confectioners made and sold it there. Tourists loved it.

At the time, John Ross Edmiston owned a small postcard shop on the boardwalk. He wanted to expand his business by adding a section of the store to sell candy. He hired David Bradley to sell candy in his store. And, here is where the most popular taffy legend began.

In 1883, a huge storm rolled in from the Atlantic Ocean. It flooded most of the shops on the boardwalk and the products inside. As Bradley began to clean up, a little girl came to the flooded store looking for taffy. He told her the candy was flooded with the saltwater from the storm. She said, “That’s okay” and she bought some anyway. She brought it home and gave some to her mom.  Her mom loved it and called it “Saltwater Taffy”. The new name stuck and the popularity of this chewy treat took off. Its popularity quickly spread from seaside venues to candy stores all over the country.

It was only a short time later that Joseph Fralinger, another confectioner on Atlantic City’s boardwalk conceived the idea to wrap the candy individually.  and put it into a decorative box. Tourists “ate it up”!