History of the Hamburger Wagon
River towns of the Miami Valley were decimated by the infamous Great Flood of 1913. Miamisburg was no exception as floodwaters from the Great Miami River caused untold damage to this small community.
As Miamisburg was virtually under water, the Red Cross set up a tent city for the refugees at the top of Mound Hill. Sherman “Cocky” Porter, a Miamisburg resident, volunteered to help provide food for the flood victims and relief workers. As the cold March winds blew through the camp, Porter knew that whatever food was to be provided needed to be warm, nutritious and readily available in large quantities. Porter had just the right answer. Utilizing a favorite family recipe, Porter began serving up hot, tasty hamburgers to everyone in the camp for many days. These sandwiches were a huge hit and were extremely popular throughout the community.
As time went by, the floodwaters receded, the tent city closed and life in Miamisburg returned to normal. However, something was missing! Miamisburg residents loved the little “Porter Burgers” so much that nary a day went by without a request to Porter to cook up a few more of his burgers. With demand swelling, Sherman Porter finally agreed to start selling his secret recipe burgers on Saturdays. The burgers were so popular it soon became a full time endeavor and these tasty treats have been a Miamisburg institution ever since.
If this is your first time to Miamisburg, stop down to the “Wagon” and find out what all the fuss is about. Ranked one of the top 100 hamburgers in the United States by the recent book “Hamburger America”, we hope you’ll stop by and give this piece of Americana a try.