This Massachusetts Town Is Where Fig Newtons Got Their Name

Massachusetts is well-known as being the birthplace of the chocolate chip cookie, but did you know it’s also the place where the Fig Newton was invented?

You are forgiven if you thought Fig Newtons had something to do with Sir Isaac Newton, but remember, Newton was all about apples and didn’t give a fig about figs.

The Fig Newton, however, was created in Cambridge, Massachusetts and named for the nearby town of Newton.

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Back in 1891, cookie maker Charles M. Roser was working for Kennedy Biscuit when he came up with the concept of stuffing fig paste into a cookie.

According to Thoughtco.com, the cookie was named the “Fig Newton” because “the Boston-based company had a habit of naming their cookies after local towns, and they already had cookies named Beacon Hill, Harvard and Shrewsbury when the Newton was created.”

In 1997, then-Massachusetts Governor William Weld lost his fight to get the Fig Newton named the Commonwealth's official cookie, losing instead to the much-more-beloved chocolate chip cookie.

READ MORE: Massachusetts Woman Accidentally Invented the Chocolate Chip Cookie

Also, apologies for referring to the Fig Newton as a “cookie,” because we learned in the 1980s that “Newtons are fruit and cake.”

Because the 1980s was also the decade of excess and consumerism, the modern-day maker of Fig Newtons, Nabisco, began creating a whole line of Newton options including Strawberry Newtons, Raspberry Newtons, Blueberry Newtons, and in might have finally been a nod to ol’ Sir Issac, the Apple Newton.

In 2012, the “Fig” was dropped from the official full name, and the fruit-and-cake treat became simply known as “Newtons.” The brand is now owned by Mondelez International, and Newtons are made in Mexico.

Newton, Massachusetts, though, still lays claim to the nickname “Fig City.”