O.T.C. Trenton Crackers

Bobby pins in matchbook-style holder made of blue plastic. Orange print reads, "O.T.C. Trenton Crackers have no substitute."

OTC® Oyster Crackers were introduced in Trenton, N.J., in 1847 by Adam Exton, an English immigrant. Exton conceived the idea of baking a cracker to be used in oyster stews. In 1848, one year after the Exton crackers arrived on the Trenton scene, Ezekiel Pullen began baking an "Original Trenton Cracker" in the kitchen of his home. He sold his crackers from the back of his wagon as he made his way along Trenton streets. Both businesses grew as a craze for oysters developed in the 1860s and 1870s. OTC ® crackers became available from wooden barrels in neighborhood stores and in seafood restaurants. During the Civil War, the Exton company supplied its crackers to the Union army.

In 1887 Christopher Cartlidge bought the Pullen Cracker Company and renamed it Original Trenton Cracker Company. In 1962, after 115 years of rivalry, the Cartlidge family bought the Exton company, making it at last the one and only "Original Trenton Cracker." Specialty Brands of America has owned the OTC® brand since 1993.

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