History
Fried clams have been served since at least 1865, and most likely earlier, as they have been found on an 1865 menu from the Parker House hotel restaurant in Boston, Massachusetts. It is not known if the clams were deep fried or if they were batter dipped. The same 1865 menu offers "oysters fried" and "oysters fried in batter".
Legend has it that the modern deep-fried, batter-dipped version was credited to Lawrence Henry "Chubby" Woodman from Essex, Massachusetts. He is said to have created the first batch on July 3, 1916, in his small roadside restaurant, now Woodman's of Essex. One of his specialties was homemade potato chips, so he had large vats for deep-frying foods. He used the clams, which he had collected himself from the mud flats of the Essex River located close to his home.
Later, Thomas Soffron, of Soffron Brothers Clam Co., based in Ipswich, Massachusetts, created clam strips, which are made from the "foot" of hard-shelled sea clams. He sold these to Howard Johnson's in an exclusive deal, and as the chain expanded, they became popular throughout the country.
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