Before there was a park with a bronze statue and a giant Cosmic Brownie sculpture, there was a young couple selling five-cent cakes out of the back of a 1928 Whippet. The story of how Little Debbie Park came to exist in Collegedale, Tennessee starts almost a century earlier, with a family bakery built during the hardest years of the Great Depression.
A Bakery Born in the Depression (1934)
In 1934, O.D. and Ruth McKee bought a small, struggling Chattanooga bakery called Jack’s Cookie Company. O.D. had spent the previous year selling snack cakes from his car; buying the bakery was a risk during one of the worst economic periods in American history. Times were tight enough that the young family lived in a room at the back of the bakery, with a sheet separating home from the workspace.
Finding Their Way Back to Chattanooga
The business moved to Charlotte, North Carolina in search of room to grow, then returned to the Chattanooga area in the early 1950s. In 1957, the company — by then renamed McKee Baking Company — settled in the small town of Collegedale, Tennessee, where its headquarters remains today.
The Name That Started With a Salesman (1960)
The Little Debbie name wasn’t part of some grand marketing plan. According to company accounts, a packaging salesman told O.D. McKee that “McKee” sounded too plain for a product line, and suggested naming it after one of his grandchildren instead. The McKees picked four-year-old granddaughter Debbie, and Ruth chose a black-and-white photo of her for the packaging — the same image, redrawn over the decades, that still appears on boxes today.
From Local Bakery to National Brand
What started as a single family-pack of baked goods in 1960 grew into one of the best-known snack brands in the country. McKee Foods now ships hundreds of millions of cartons a year, with top sellers including Oatmeal Creme Pies, Swiss Cake Rolls, and Nutty Bars — three of the same treats immortalized as giant sculptures at Little Debbie Park today.
Still a Family Business
Unlike most companies of its size, McKee Foods has stayed privately owned by the McKee family for over 90 years. Debbie herself — now Debbie McKee-Fowler — still serves on the company’s board. Leadership has passed through multiple generations of the family, and the company has kept its headquarters in Collegedale the entire time.
Why Collegedale Got the Park
In 2023, the McKee family donated 10 acres of land to the City of Collegedale specifically to create public green space for the community. The result was Little Debbie Park — a way of turning nearly a century of local history into something families could actually walk through, climb on, and photograph. For a full look at what’s there today, see our Attractions guide, and for hours and directions, check our Plan Your Visit page.
Frequently Asked Questions
When was McKee Foods founded?
1934, in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Why is it called “Little Debbie”?
It’s named after O.D. and Ruth McKee’s granddaughter, Debbie, whose photo appeared on the original packaging in 1960.
Is McKee Foods still family-owned?
Yes — it remains privately held by the McKee family today.
Why is Little Debbie Park in Collegedale?
McKee Foods is headquartered in Collegedale, and the McKee family donated the land for the park in 2023.
