According to local tradition, during a hunting trip in Brunswick County in 1828, Dr. Creed Haskins's camp cook, Jimmy Matthews, hunted squirrels for a stew and simmered them with butter, onions, stale bread, and seasoning, creating the dish known as Brunswick stew. Recipes for Brunswick stew have changed over time as chicken replaced squirrel and vegetables were added, but the stew remains thick and rich. Other states have made similar claims, but Virginia's is the first.