The Puddin Hill tradition began in 1839 when James and Mary Horton came to the heart of the Blackland Prairie region of northeast Texas. James Horton had received 620 acres of land as payment for his services to the Republic of Texas. As his descendants like to tell it, the new country was short on money, but long on land, so thats how James Horton was paid. It had rained the day the Horton’s arrived at their new home. Rainwater makes any patch of Texas blackland soil a soggy, gummy mess and, despite the conditions; James insisted that he and his family look around the site. He led them to the crest of a small hill, while Mary struggled through the thick, black mud. This is like walking through pudding, she said. It was inspiration enough. Horton spread his arms wide and proudly shouted, Well then, welcome to Puddin Hill! That Mary Horton was the first Mary on Puddin Hill, and it was her recipe for pecan fruit cake that was passed on from generation to generation as a holiday tradition. In 1948, more than a century later, Marys great-grand­daughter, Mary Horton Lauderdale, and her husband Sam were students at the University of Texas. Mary was a home economics graduate and Sam was a G.I. Bill chemical engineering student. The G.I. Bill allowed us $90 a month and we were hungrier than that, recalls Mary. At Christmas Mary gave a fruitcake baked from the heirloom recipe to her home economics professor, who said, If you ever need any extra money, this cake will sell. The next Christmas, Mary and Sam started making fruit cakes in their tiny apartment. Marys parents loaned the money to buy the fruit, and friends helped prepare the cakes. Five hundred pounds of fruitcake later, they realized that they might be on to something.

Address: 201 E Interstate 30 Exit 95 Greenville, TX 75402
Telephone: 903-455-2651
Fax: 903-455-4522
Website: http://www.puddinhill.com/mph/index.web