Philadelphia, Pennsylvania · Founded 1861
America’s oldest ice-cream company, founded in 1861 and the first merchant to sign a lease at Reading Terminal Market in 1892.
Lewis Dubois Bassett began making ice cream by mule power on his Salem County, New Jersey, farm in 1861. After selling at Philadelphia farmers’ markets, he opened a shop at 5th and Market Streets in 1885. Bassetts entered Reading Terminal Market in 1892 as its first merchant to sign a lease and remains the market’s last surviving original business.
Lewis Dubois Bassett begins making ice cream using mule power on his Salem County, New Jersey, farm.
Source: Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, "America's Oldest Ice Cream Company Calls Pennsylvania Home"; Bassetts Ice Cream official history
After selling at Philadelphia farmers' markets, Bassett opens an ice cream shop at 5th and Market Streets.
Source: Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, "America's Oldest Ice Cream Company Calls Pennsylvania Home"; Bassetts Ice Cream historical summary
Bassetts becomes the first merchant to sign a lease at Reading Terminal Market and opens a retail counter there.
Source: Reading Terminal Market, "Bassetts Ice Cream"; Bassetts Ice Cream official history
Michael Strange joins Bassetts Ice Cream full time.
Source: Bassetts Ice Cream, "Meet The Bassett Family"
Michael Strange becomes president of Bassetts Ice Cream.
Source: Bassetts Ice Cream, "Meet The Bassett Family"
Alex Bassett Strange becomes president of Bassetts Ice Cream while Michael Strange continues as CEO.
Source: Bassetts Ice Cream, "Meet The Bassett Family"
CBS Philadelphia reports that Bassett Strange represents the sixth generation of family leadership at Bassetts.
Source: CBS Philadelphia, "Bassetts Ice Cream, America's oldest ice cream brand"
Every claim gets rated. A business's own website can never earn "documented."
Pennsylvania state economic-development material, Reading Terminal Market, current local reporting, and Bassetts' own historical record identify the family company, established in 1861, as America’s oldest ice-cream company. The title applies to the company, not to the oldest ice-cream parlor, retail building, or same-location counter.
Reading Terminal Market identifies Bassetts as the first merchant to sign a lease when the market opened in 1892. It remains the market's last original merchant and continues to operate a counter there.
Pennsylvania's economic-development profile describes the Reading Terminal Market counter as having a 125-year-old marble countertop. This supports a historic-countertop claim, but this review did not obtain a preservation inventory or installation record proving that the surface is wholly original to the 1892 opening.
Reading Terminal Market and Pennsylvania state materials describe Bassetts as still owned and operated by the same family. Official company biographies identify Alex Bassett Strange as president from 2024 and Michael Strange as CEO.
Bassetts Ice Cream was founded inside Reading Terminal Market in 1861.
Lewis Dubois Bassett started making ice cream in Salem County, New Jersey, in 1861. He opened a Philadelphia shop in 1885, and Bassetts entered Reading Terminal Market in 1892.
Source: Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, "America's Oldest Ice Cream Company Calls Pennsylvania Home"; Reading Terminal Market, "Bassetts Ice Cream"
Bassetts opened its first Philadelphia shop in 1884.
Pennsylvania state material dates Bassett's first 5th-and-Market Philadelphia shop to 1885.
Source: Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, "America's Oldest Ice Cream Company Calls Pennsylvania Home"
Bassetts' Reading Terminal counter is definitively unchanged from 1892.
Bassetts retains a historic marble countertop, described by Pennsylvania state material as 125 years old, but this review did not locate an inventory proving that every part of the counter is original to the 1892 opening.
Source: Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, "America's Oldest Ice Cream Company Calls Pennsylvania Home"
Bassetts survives through a rare combination of family continuity, product identity, and a long-running public-market counter. The company has remained family owned for six generations while adapting its leadership and distribution over time. Its 1892 Reading Terminal Market tenancy keeps the business visible as both a Philadelphia institution and a national old-business claimant.
Bassetts Ice Cream began in 1861 when Lewis Dubois Bassett made ice cream by mule power on his Salem County, New Jersey, farm. He opened a Philadelphia shop at 5th and Market Streets in 1885, then became the first merchant to sign a lease at Reading Terminal Market in 1892. Bassetts still operates there as the market’s last original business.
Yes. Bassetts Ice Cream, founded in 1861, is recognized by Pennsylvania state sources, Reading Terminal Market, current local reporting, and the company itself as America’s oldest operating ice-cream company. The claim applies to the company’s business lineage, not to the oldest ice-cream parlor or oldest retail building.
Yes. Bassetts Ice Cream remains owned and operated by the Bassett family. Official company biographies state that Alex Bassett Strange became president in 2024, while Michael Strange continues as CEO; recent reporting identifies sixth-generation Bassett Strange family leadership.
45 N 12th St, Philadelphia, PA 19107
(215) 925-4315
Bassetts is inside Reading Terminal Market at Map A6; confirm the market’s current daily hours and holiday schedule before visiting.