Oyster industry came to a crossroads in the late 1800s

Oyster consumption practically came to a halt in the Carolinas during the Civil War, but the oyster trade resumed with vigor in the late 1800s, said Robert F. Moss, a food historian based in Charleston, S.C. 

“An expanding railroad network and the increased availability of ice allowed fresh shellfish to be enjoyed far inland from the coast, and entrepreneurs were soon selling fresh oysters in towns and cities throughout the region,” Moss said.

 

“By the late 1870s, oyster houses were operating in the North Carolina communities of Goldsboro, Tarboro, Raleigh, Greensboro…and as far west as Charlotte, which was the terminus of the North Carolina Railroad connecting the Piedmont to the eastern part of the state.”

 

In the western section of North Carolina, Moss said that “Edward Williams launched a combination barber shop and oyster house in Rutherfordton in 1872, declaring, ‘I will be pleased to serve all who may desire a clean shave, or a nice plate of oysters, as cheaply as can be afforded.’” 

Moss and several other journalists commented on events leading up to the “Oyster War” that brought poachers from the Chesapeake Bay into North Carolina waters in the 1880s. 

Writing for the North Carolina Coastal Federation, Kip Tabb reported that “the harvesting of oysters in North Carolina had always been a family affair with oystermen tending small oyster gardens near the shore, harvesting their oysters with tongs, a rake-like device. The technique was labor-intensive, and the depth of the water the oystermen could work was limited by the length of the handle.”

 

“The American mania for oysters in the late 19th century almost destroyed the beloved shellfish of the mid-Atlantic,” Moss noted. “In the Chesapeake Bay, hand tongs were replaced by dredges dragged over the beds by steam-powered boats, harvesting oysters in massive quantities but destroying centuries-old beds in the process.” 

George Stevenson’s essay in NCpedia reaffirmed that “overfishing had dangerously depleted the seemingly inexhaustible oyster beds of Maryland and Virginia.” Consequently, dredging operations targeted North Carolina as fertile ground. 

“In 1888, seven armed vessels from Virginia were reported plying the waters of Hyde County, gathering and transporting 7,000 bushels of oysters weekly to Virginia,” Stevenson wrote.

 

The first dredges were hand-cranked. Below is a modern oyster dredging operation.

“During the 1890 season, Carteret, Hyde and Pamlico counties dispatched patrol boats to drive off the pirates, but individual confrontations locally proved ineffectual.” 

The editor of the Elizabeth City Economist, lamented the continuing “infernal Virginia oyster thievery.” 

“In 1891, North Carolina Gov Daniel G. Fowle immediately pushed through the General Assembly legislation strong enough to put the dredgers out of business and to prevent the shipping of North Carolina oysters to out-of-state markets,” Stevenson said. 

The oystermen of Ocracoke were quick to mobilize and were ready to fight, if necessary, said local historian Philip Howard.

 

“There never was any doubt among Ocracoke islanders that Pamlico Sound oyster beds belonged to them and should remain protected from large scale commercial dredging companies who would have…quickly depleted the oyster populations,” Howard said. 

The Wilmington Weekly Star reported that a North Carolina oyster patrol was formed, stating: “If any dredgers are found continuing to ravish the oyster beds they will be arrested, even if their boats have to be blown out of the water and their crews killed.” 

Only one vessel and its dredges were impounded, Stevenson said. “Its captain and crew were charged and tried in the Pamlico County Superior Court, thus ending the Oyster War” in North Carolina. Fortunately, it was short-lived and bloodless.