Wellfleet
For the past thirty years there has been an extensive oyster industry at Wellfleet, and many grants have been taken out in the waters of Wellfleet Bay, which possesses some of the best oyster ground in the State. In spite of the success of the past years, the industry is declining, indicating, possibly, that after 1910 no more grants will be leased.
Four parts of the bay are taken up by oyster grants in the vicinity of: (1) Mayo’s Beach; (2) Great Island; (3) Indian Neck; (4) Lieutenant’s Island.
(1) Nine grants, covering an area of 176 acres of both flats and deeper water, extend out from Mayo’s Beach a distance of 1,500 feet. These grants extend along shore from Commercial Wharf to Egg Island, a distance of 3,500 feet. Seven of these grants have each a shore extension of 200 feet, the other 2 having 600 and 1,500 feet respectively. The principal planting on these grants is done by D. Atwood & Co.
(2) On the west side of the bay, along the shores of Great Island and Beach Hill, there are 7 grants which are now worked. Originally there were 12 grants in this locality, but 5 of them expired some time ago. The area included in these 5 grants is 500 acres, while the entire granted area covers 708 acres. Wright & Willis, R. R. Higgins and L. D. Baker have done most of the planting on these grants in the past few years.
(3) On the east side of the bay, near Indian Neck, are 5 grants, comprising 224 acres. J. A. Stubbs does all the planting here. A single grant of 11 acres of flats is held in Duck Creek Cove by J. C. Wiles. These grants extend along the shore for 2,000 yards and run out into the bay for 1,000 yards.
(4) Off Lieutenant’s Island are 8 grants, comprising a total area of 1,062 acres. Only 3 of these, comprising 559 acres, are now worked. Joseph Crosby of Osterville is the principal planter on these grants.
From the statistical returns of the oyster planters it is found that 23 grants are now held for oyster planting, comprising an area of 967 acres; 810 acres, or 83 per cent. of this area, is suitable for oyster culture. There is very little soft mud bottom, only 82 acres, while the shifting sand area is 75 acres.
The total area of grants ever leased at Wellfleet comprises 2,182 acres, of which 1,473 are now held. The average depth of water over these grants at mean low tide is 4 feet, the extremes running from 1 to 12 feet.
| Capital invested, | $31,390 |
| Power boats, | 4 |
| Value of power boats, | $9,250 |
| Sail boats, | 4 |
| Value of sail boats, | $750 |
| Dories and skiffs, | 8 |
| Value of dories and skiffs, | $115 |
| Implements:— | |
| Dredges, | 14 |
| Tongs, | 12 |
| Value of implements, | $575 |
| Value of shore property, | $1,200 |
| Value of oysters on grant, | $19,500 |
Most of the oystering is done by dredging, two large gasolene oyster boats, the “Cultivator” and the “Marion,” being employed for this purpose. Tongs are also used extensively. Fourteen men are engaged from six to twelve months each year in the oyster business.
The production for 1906-07 was 22,500 bushels of marketable oysters, valued at $24,850; and 1,000 bushels of “seed,” worth approximately $1,000. Most of the planted “seed” is obtained from Long Island and Connecticut.
The damage from the natural enemies of the oyster is reported as very slight.
The Wellfleet oyster has a peculiar salty flavor not possessed by other oysters. For some trade this is preferred, while for others it is not so desirable. Before marketing the extreme saltiness is sometimes removed by floating the oysters in Duck Creek, where the water is less salt, using large, scow-like floats, 30 by 15 feet.
Several Boston firms are engaged in oyster culture at Wellfleet, including D. Atwood & Co., J. A. Stubbs and R. R. Higgins.
For years there has been a conflict between the quahaugers and the oystermen at Wellfleet. This is very natural, owing to the rivalry between the two industries and the rapid rise of the quahaug fishery in the last fifteen years. Owing to their greater number, the quahaugers have obtained the upper hand in town affairs, with the result that in 1910, when all the oyster leases run out, it is said that no more will be granted, and the oyster business of Wellfleet will come to an end. This is especially unfortunate for the town, as there is room for both industries, and the destruction of either one would be a great financial loss. It is hoped that some means can be devised to straighten out the difficulties between the opposing factions before either industry is ruined.
But little oyster spat has ever been caught in Wellfleet Bay. That oysters will set there is evidenced by the young “seed” caught on the piles of the wharves and on stones and rocks around the harbor. It is noteworthy that at Wellfleet the spat sets only between the tide lines, and does not catch where water is constantly over the ground. This is directly contrary to the conditions in Long Island Sound, where the set is caught in deep water. E. P. Cook and J. A. Stubbs have tried spat collecting in Herring River for several years, with the results of one or two good sets, the best being caught by Mr. Cook in 1906. The other years have proved failures in this line. There is no question but that oyster spat can be profitably caught if sufficient interest is taken in the matter.
The early laws were as follows:—
In 1772 a law having been enacted by the General Court, regulating the taking of oysters in Billingsgate Bay, an amendment to that act was now asked by the town, namely, that during the summer months oysters shall not be taken to market, nor fished by the inhabitants of the town for their own use during the months of July and August.
In 1773:—
That, inasmuch as the oyster fishery, which is of great value to the town and of great advantage to the Province, has received detriment from persons taking young oysters, the enactment of more stringent regulations are necessary to prevent their destruction.
These early laws show that the natural oyster beds were highly prized by the Inhabitants in colonial days, and that measures, even then, were necessary to prevent their extinction. At the present time Wellfleet has no other regulations than the general oyster laws of the Commonwealth.
The history of the oyster industry of Wellfleet can be divided into three periods: (1) the natural oyster fishery; (2) the “bedding” of southern oysters; (3) oyster planting.
(1) The Natural Oyster Beds of Wellfleet.—The first settlers found a natural oyster bed near Hitchin’s Creek, or Silver Spring, in 1644, and it is said that oysters were very abundant at that time. Old shells are occasionally dredged or raked up at the present day from these beds. The Rev. Enoch Pratt, in his “History of Eastham, Wellfleet and Orleans,” gives the following account of this early oyster industry:—
Oysters were found in great abundance on the flats at the first settlement [1644], but at this time [1770] the inhabitants had so increased and such quantities were taken for consumption and for the Boston market, that it became necessary, to prevent their entire destruction, for the district to take measures to preserve and propagate them.... Shops and stands were opened in Boston, Salem, Portland and other places, where the oysters were sold in quantities to suit the purchaser.
In 1775 all the oysters in the bay died. What caused their destruction is not certainly known, but it is supposed that as, at this time, a large number of blackfish died and came on shore, where their carcasses remained, producing a very filthy condition of the water, it caused this mortality.
A more probable explanation is given by Mr. E. P. Cook of Wellfleet. The early inhabitants, not knowing the value of the natural shell beds for catching the spat, greedily took every shell and burned them into lime as a fertilizer for their farms and plaster for their houses. There was once a fine strip of woods near this original oyster rock, but this was cut down, and the sand gradually washed over the beds, killing the young oysters. To these two causes can be attributed the final destruction of the natural beds in 1775.
(2) The Bedding of Southern Oysters.—After the destruction of the natural beds, an important industry arose in the “bedding” of southern oysters for northern trade. Privileges for bedding oysters on the flats were granted to a number of oyster firms. These men hired schooners in the latter part of the winter or the early spring, which went to the southern oyster grounds and brought back loads of oysters. These oysters were spread or bedded over the leased flats of the harbor, where they remained until the following fall, when they were taken up for market. In this way the oysters gained in size by the summer’s growth, and were fattened for market. Considerable trade sprang up in the carrying of oysters, and many vessels were engaged in this traffic. In 1841 Mr. Gould, the conchologist, states that 120 men, with 30 vessels of about 40 tons each, were employed for three months of the year, and brought to the town an annual revenue of $8,000.
In 1841 Capt. William Dill is credited with bringing into Wellfleet the first cargo from Virginia, which started a large trade in Chesapeake oysters. Mr. Ernest Ingersoll makes the following statement concerning the Virginia trade:—
Nevertheless, it was not until about 1845 or 1850 that the business began to confine itself to Virginia oysters, and a large business to be done. At its height, about 1850, it is probable that more than 100,000 bushels a year were laid down in the harbor; some say 150,000.... The favorite ground was at the mouth of Herring River.
The Rev. Enoch Pratt writes, in 1844:—
The inhabitants of the town tried the experiment of bringing oysters from the south and laying them down on the flats, which succeeded well. In the course of a year they doubled their size and their quality was much improved. This soon became a large business, and a number of vessels have been employed in the spring of every year in bringing them here. The number of bushels which are now [1844] annually brought is about 60,000. Nearly all the oyster shops and stands in Boston, and other cities and towns in this State, are supplied from this place, and are kept by persons belonging to the town. This business affords a living for many families.
Mr. Ernest Ingersoll thus describes the decline of the oyster trade in 1870:—
The war of the rebellion, however, interfered somewhat with the oyster trade, and it began to decline so far as Wellfleet was concerned. Then the various dealers in northern ports, having learned something, began to bed near home in their own harbors, and so saved freightage. Finally, the steamers from Norfolk and the railways entered into so serious a competition that fully ten years ago [1870] Wellfleet Bay was wholly deserted by the oystermen as a bedding ground, though her vessels still continue to carry cargoes in winter from Virginia to Boston, Portland, Salem, Portsmouth and the Providence River, to supply the active trade and fill the new beds, which the dealers at these various ports had learned could be established at home. The reader thus discovers how important a part Wellfleet has played in the history of the oyster trade of New England. A hundred thousand bushels of the bivalves once grew fat along her water front, and thousands of dollars were dispensed to the citizens in the industry they created. Now [1880] a little experimental propagation, to the value of a few hundred dollars, and about 6,000 bushels of bedded oysters from Virginia, worth perhaps $5,000 when sold, form the total active business. The oyster fleet, however, remains, though greatly diminished, and carrying its cargoes to Boston, Portland and elsewhere, instead of bringing them to be laid down in the home harbor. It will be long before Wellfleet, and its neighbor, Provincetown, lose the prestige of old custom as oyster carriers.
(3) Oyster Raising.—In 1876 the first attempt to raise oysters from “seed” at Wellfleet, is said to have been made by E. P. Cook, who obtained a grant from the town of about 30 acres, on which were planted 500 bushels of “seed” from Somerset, Mass. The “Oysterman” of Dec. 20, 1906, gives the following account of oyster planting at Wellfleet:—
In 1876 our informant, Mr. E. P. Cook, conceived the idea that these waters could grow “seed” oysters as well as fatten big stock. He went to Somerset, Mass., and got a carload of 500 bushels and planted them. A few had previously been planted but with ill success. The people laughed at him for dumping his good money overboard. He was the first man to lease a piece of oyster ground from the State, and of course had his pick, which was 600 feet on the shore next to the Silver Spring, the original spot of the natural rocks. Mr. Cook here showed his acumen as a culturist. The next spring they had made a remarkable growth, and all had lived. Then there was a stampede of the fellows who laughed, to get some ground, too. Soon every inch of available ground had been taken up. We mention the following who took up plats: Solomon Higgins, I. C. Young, Benjamin Oliver, Daniel Oliver, Edward Oliver, Cornelius Rogers, William Smith, S. B. Rich, Theodore Brown, Stephen Young. These men did not all plant. The next year Mr. Cook bought 500 bushels more, and now he had 1,000 bushels on his grounds. These were two-year-old plants, and when they had laid there three years he sold these primitive beauties for $5 per barrel. Some time after this he bought Mr. Rich’s plot. Subsequently Mr. Cook sold 400 of his 600 feet to R. R. Higgins, the founder of the famous oyster-packing house by that name. This same man bought the 200 feet of Solomon Higgins. Now this house had 600 feet of shore ground. R. R. Higgins was the first wholesaler with capital invested in the culture of the Cape Cod oysters. Finally, this house absorbed all the ground Cook had. Eight years after this the Wright & Willis firm came on the scene; that period had elapsed since the first cargo of “seed” had been freighted here. They bought the remainder of the Solomon Higgins grant. Then Mr. Cook took out another grant below Smalley’s Bar. Capt. Albert Harding and Capt. D. A. Newcomb took out leases. In 1892 Mr. Cook sold his lease to the D. Atwood Company. Then Mr. Cook bought the Capt. Albert Harding lease and sold the right to plant on it, the law then not allowing the lessee to turn over the grant in toto. Then H. & R. Atwood became interested here. About this time some friction between the planters and clammers existed, but it should be remembered that the planters occupied only about 200 of the 2,400 acres involved in this dispute. Then it was that J. A. Stubbs came on the stage of activity, and Mr. Cook secured a lease for this wholesale concern.