Mount Moriah Historic Cemetery & Arboretum is celebrating National Ice Cream Day by honoring one of their more famous burials, Lewis Dubois Bassett.

Bassett, a Quaker school teacher and farmer, began making Bassetts Ice Cream in 1861. In 1885, he moved the operations from his New Jersey backyard to a storefront at 5th and Market Streets in Philadelphia. In 1892, Bassetts moved the store to the new Reading Terminal Market where the still family-owned company maintains a store to this day.

The Friends of Mount Moriah and Bassetts Ice Cream invite the public to attend Sunday, July 18, 2021, from 1:30-3:30 p.m. At 2 pm, Alex Bassett Strange, Vice-President, Distribution, will give a short talk about the history of Bassetts Ice Cream. The first 200 visitors will receive a free Bassetts Ice Cream Sandwich!

Bassetts is a 5th generation family business and is America’s oldest ice cream company.

Lewis D. Bassett and other family members are buried at historic Mount Moriah Cemetery & Arboretum, Section 204, Lot 5, 6201 Kingsessing Avenue, Philadelphia.