USA > Connecticut > Fairfield County > Norwalk > The romance of Norwalk > Part 28
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40
Others besides the oystermen in Norwalk showed interest in the new steam invention. W. F. Lockwood, not an oyster- man but an enthusiastic believer in steam dredging, built the steamer "Enterprise" expressly for the business. When oystermen in surrounding towns and cities discovered the profit of using the new invention in their business, many steamers were built.
OYSTER PROBLEMS IN 1880
The early 1880's found the state harassed by oyster problems. By this time, it had been discovered that the two acre law was being enforced in name only. Although one man was allowed to hold no more than two acres, it was revealed that in several cases, one man held the ground rights for as many as 200 or even 300 men, netting the planter a very large acreage. The plan involved the appli- cation of numerous friends for their two acre privileges. The friends then quitclaimed the ground to the planter, for a certain remuneration. This disregard of its oyster laws caused the state no little concern. In addition, there was continued quarreling between the "natural growthers," those oystermen who made their living off the public beds, and the oyster growers, owners of the private oyster grounds. Es-
354
ROMANCE OF NORWALK
pecially in Norwalk, Bridgeport and New Haven was this true.
The state, wishing to wash its hands of all oyster argu- ments once and for all, decided that the wisest course would be the establishment of a State Shellfish Commission. The commission was formally organized in the year 1881 and invested with the right of granting perpetual franchises "in such undesignated grounds within said area as are not and for ten years have not been natural clam or oyster beds." The "said area" was bounded west and south by the state of New York, east by Rhode Island and north by the line following the coast of the state at high water. The Connec- ticut oyster grounds were now divided into "state grounds" and "town grounds," the latter being only one-tenth of the whole. The commission announced that all those who wished to do so, might secure grants for the nominal price of $1.10 per acre.
During the first month, Connecticut received applications for one-tenth of the area under its control, but only one- third of that was designated. The oyster industry now took a spurt forward. Under the state legislation of 1881, which was extremely important, a committee of five was to be appointed in each town to designate suitable places in the water for the planting and cultivation of oysters. Anyone might apply for ground and would receive a grant of two acres provided there were no previous claims to the land desired. Grounds had to be marked with buoys or stakes bearing the name or initials of the owner.
The 1881 law also said that: natural beds could neither be granted nor designated; a $50 fine would be levied on anyone who assigned rights acquired, for profit or specula- tion; when there were more than 30 designations in one town, the selectmen were required to procure a map of the district; $300 fine or one year in jail was the penalty for unlawfully removing oysters from another's bed; heavier penalties were decided upon were the dirty work done at night. Section 20 of the same piece of legislation prohibited
355
OYSTER INDUSTRY
the taking of shells or shellfish between sunset and sunrise, from any navigable waters of the state (except clams in Branford harbor from April to October) under a fine of $50 to $100 or a jail sentence.
The Shell Fish Commission of Connecticut, after its for- mation, promptly took over the sale of oyster lands formerly handled by the towns. But the state was not so economical as were the towns which had made quite a little money through the transactions. As a result, instead of showing a reasonable profit of about $50,000 at the end of eight years, the state books showed instead a loss to that extent. The subject of taxation of the oyster grounds, which had been a live issue in Connecticut at the time of the creation of the Shell Fish Commission, now became an extremely vigorous one.
In 1882, 123 oystermen of Norwalk recommended that all lands should be subject to a reasonable pro rata tax, according to the first annual report of the state Shell Fish Commission. But the board members felt that the tax should be on both the oysters and the grounds. In 1883, in its second report, the Commission explained the trouble being experienced over the subject of valuation. One man might value his oyster grounds at 10 or 15 times more than his neighbor's, not because they were worth that much more, but because he was honest. What to do in this case, the state didn't know. In the fourth report, 1885, the Board stated that many loud complaints against taxes were being heard from those who had bought more ground than they could cultivate or who had purchased merely for speculation and were holding against an increase in value. In the seventh annual report, 1887, the Board reported continued rows among the oystermen of the state over the subject of assessments. At that time the tax was about eleven cents on an acre.
SHIPMENTS TO EUROPE
The Connecticut oyster grounds, points west of New
356
ROMANCE OF NORWALK
Haven, including Norwalk, formed the chief source of oyster supply for Europe, in 1888 and 1889. Oysters were care- fully culled and packed for shipment in flour barrels holding about three barrels each, according to J. W. Collins in his 1891 U. S. Fish Commissioners' bulletin. The barrel tops were pressed down as tightly as possible so that the oysters wouldn't rattle and the shells wouldn't open. "If the shells remain shut, the liquid stays in, keeping the oysters alive much longer than would otherwise be possible," according to Mr. Collins.
The quantity of oysters shipped to Europe from Connecti- cut at the time, comprised three quarters of the entire trans- atlantic export of oysters from America. The shipping season lasted from November to May, the oysters being sent on steamships which plied between New York and European ports. Nineteen twentieths of the oysters went directly to Liverpool. That thousands upon thousands of barrels of Connecticut oysters were shipped to Europe be- tween 1870 and 1890, there can be no doubt. One old oyster report maintains that shortly after the trade opened in the '70's, as high as 160,000 barrels were sent abroad every year. In '85, Norwalk alone, sent 33,000 barrels to European consumers, the George H. Shaffer Co. on Water st., being the largest shipper according to Charles D. Tobey of 4 Charles st., So years of age, who spent 65 years in the oyster business. From 1888 to 1889, according to Col- lins, the state sent in one season 103, 109 barrels across the Atlantic. These barrels were a good deal larger than the average.
Norwalk, in 1889 had more oyster boats on her grounds, public and private, than any other city in the state. She could boast a total of 208, steam, sail and row, New Haven being second with III. Norwalk in 1889 stood second in the state as to number of acres included in natural beds, there being 1650 acres under town control and 160 under state control. Norwalk stood first in the state however, in the number of bushels of seed oysters taken from her pri-
357
OYSTER INDUSTRY
vate grounds, there being 140,780 bushels worth $81,978. She also stood first in the number of bushels of native oysters in the shell taken from her private grounds: 127,442 bush- els worth $127,746. Where the public grounds were con- cerned, Norwalk stood second with 12,500 bushels of oysters worth $5,750. The total amount of oysters taken from the Norwalk grounds public and private, not including shells in 1889 was 275,841 bushels worth $215,117.
ILL LAWS PASSED
During the next 30 years, many ill laws were passed by Connecticut for the "benefit" of the state's oyster industry. There was the policing of the oyster grounds from Branford to Greenwich in 1895 to prevent thieving. Norwalk along with other cities in the state, was taxed for the protection. After awhile, the policing was abolished but the tax was not. On the contrary it was increased.
In 1907, a law pertaining to oyster franchises was passed : Section 3215 of the general statutes as amended by chapter 66 of the public acts of 1907. This law provided that hold- ers of oyster franchises must have been residents of the state for at least a year; or all the stockholders of a company organized under the state laws must be citizens of the state. During these years, assessments were outrageous. In many instances, oyster grounds that were assessed for $5000 were offered for sale for $500 or even $250. The Connecticut tax in 1910 was a 15 mill tax on the assessed valuation of the oyster ground franchise owned by planters. The natural growthers were required to have a boat license which cost $5 for a boat under five tons and $1.50 for each additional ton when the boat exceeded five tons.
This law was very unsatisfactory and in 1910 the Board of Equalization and Oyster Investigation Commission of Conn., made two recommendations :
I. The placing of a flat valuation of $10 on every acre
358
ROMANCE OF NORWALK
of ground under state jurisdiction. (At the present time, 1929, that valuation is still $10).
2. The placing of a productivity tax of two or three cents a bushel on all seed or other oysters taken from the grounds in this state for sale, or for the purpose of remov- ing the same out of the state. Nothing came of this recom- mendation.
The Board in 1910 also recommended in connection with the natural oyster beds, a license of $2 for every vessel or boat under five tons and fifty cents for each additional ton. (This recommendation later became a law). At that time there were nine natural oyster beds in Connecticut: Cornell reef, natural bed, 15 acres; Portchester, natural bed, 218 acres; Great Captain's Island, 152 acres; Field Point, 84 acres; Greenwich Point, 403 acres; Fairfield Bar and Fair- field Natural Bed, 1237 acres ; Bridgeport, 334 acres ; Strat- ford, 3055 acres; Roton Point and Fish Island, Norwalk, 307 acres. Only the last four were thought of sufficient importance to be buoyed by the state. It will be noted that Norwalk's natural oyster bed was still numbered among those of any value. But only a small part of the acreage of this great bed was under production.
In IgIo, the Board of Equalization and Oyster Investiga- tion Commission found the natural oyster beds of the state practically depleted. The Board maintained that if the then present methods of use were continued, they would result in complete impoverishment of the natural beds; that where these beds had been originally productive, they were now depleted; that shellfish were often raked up and sold as seed before they even reached the size of a one cent piece. In many localities the natural grounds were being leased to private owners for the purpose of building them up. The natural growthers loudly protested of course and said that their rights were being interfered with. The Board an- swered that it was in favor of such a method as the natural growthers depleted, but they did not build up the beds and to back its claim, quoted Frank Wood, superintendent of the
359
OYSTER INDUSTRY
Bureau of Marine Fisheries of the state of New York, as saying :
"They, the natural growthers, think because it may be possible to go out upon the waters for a few hours in the 24, when the tide serves, and dig a half peck of shell fish, that it is sufficient reason why such land should not be leased. by the state to private planters. It might as well be said that it is wrong for the government to grant homestead farms to settlers, because a few blackberries might be plucked upon the lands by any one who cared to look for them."
Years later, in 1928, the U. S. Bureau of Fisheries recom- mended "in every instance, the leasing of all oyster bot- . toms and especially the natural beds to private enterprises." The report was made by Herbert Prytherch of the Bureau. About this time, the Connecticut Shell Fish Commission re- ported that the income from the natural bed licenses for the past few years had been: 1923, $1690; 1924, $945; 1925, $1150; 1926, $1285; 1927, $680; 1928, $295. The number of licensed boats on the natural beds in the state dwindled from 300 in 1883, 1884 and 1885, to nine in 1928.
INDUSTRIAL WASTE EVILS
After 1900 oyster sets in this region became generally light and scattering until 1911 when an excellent set was obtained. In 1914 there was another good set, but for several years thereafter nothing worth mentioning. Poor sets or none at all were the verdict for several years there- after. Fair sets were noted in 1925 and 1926. There was no set in 1927. The year 1928 produced set which was fairly general on inshore areas where preparations had been made by the growers in cleaning the beds of old oyster shells and oyster enemies and by the planting of oysters to produce spawn. In 1929 there was practically nothing in the way of a set in Norwalk waters.
Industrial waste has done much in the past years to kill oyster life in the river and harbor beds not only in Norwalk,
360
ROMANCE OF NORWALK
but all along the Connecticut coast. In 1920, the U. S. Bureau of Fisheries in a series of tests discovered that in Connecticut harbors there are a large number of trade wastes which spell death to the oyster. Copper, even in the very smallest amounts is a serious menace to the oyster in- dustry especially to the seed production, according to the Bureau, while other harmful substances are zinc, lead, strong acids and logwood. In 1923, the Bureau stated that in order to restore the Connecticut oyster industry to its former pros- perity, it would be necessary among other things to control the discharge of all harmful trade wastes. In this same report the U. S. Bureau of Fisheries advised, for the res- toration of the state industry, that growers keep such of the inshore grounds as were at all satisfactory, well stocked with oysters, and turn the rest of their attention to the spawning of Sound or offshore oysters. At the time the state of Connecticut was making feeble attempts to restock its natural beds and to help in the restocking of depleted private beds, inshore. The miserable way in which the state fell down on its job is revealed in the biennial report of the Connecticut Shell Fish Commission, 1925-26.
At that time the commission was comprised of Captain Frederick F. Lovejoy, 41 Second st., this city; Howard W. Beach of New Haven, and Charles B. Marsh of Easton. The commissioners set forth that in their opinion the re- peated failure of sets was due principally to the "depletion of certain shallow waters where there were formerly im- mense quantities of spawning or parent oysters. The small amounts appropriated by the state were entirely inadequate to attempt the restoration of these areas but served rather merely to point out the way by which it might be ac- complished. Had substantial appropriation been available for the past five or six years, the commissioners continued, appropriations which were requested only after long and careful investigations, a much greater prosperity could now be reported; and a prompt and attentive consideration of the whole subject, tending toward the deliberate and creative
361
OYSTER INDUSTRY
restoration of this once magnificent natural industry, could have been, or even now might still become, the pride of the entire state.
OYSTER BAN IN 1924
Norwalk people will remember how in the year 1924 an oyster scare swept the country when it was whispered that the bivalves carried typhoid germs, and scarcely anyone had the courage to eat oysters for nearly a year. The scare was due to typhoid outbreaks in Chicago, New York and Washington, D. C., attributed to a certain brand of oysters sent out over the country by a New York shipper. No one knew from just where the oysters originally came but the consumers weren't taking any chances. They just didn't buy any. In Norwalk, during that year, oyster sales were pitifully low; housewives refused to use their home produce ; the restaurants crossed the dish off their menus completely. Growers became panic stricken. They wanted desperately to restore the market, partly to reassure themselves and all others of the purity of the product at all times, and partly because many of them were descending into straitened financial circumstances.
They decided to ask the Surgeon General of the United States Public Health Service to call a conference in order to plan what should be done. February 19, 1925, the con- ference was called in Washington, D. C. It was attended by officers of the U. S. Public Health Service, the U. S. Bureau of Chemistry, the U. S. Bureau of Fisheries, by state and municipal health authorities, by state conservation commissions, and by representatives of the shellfish industry from all along the coast. Out of this conference grew a general committee which announced itself as being organized for the "Sanitary Control of the Shell Fish Industry of the United States." Connecticut was represented at the time on the committee by Dr. Stanley H. Osborn, commissioner
362
ROMANCE OF NORWALK
of the state department of health, and by Howard W. Beach, chairman of the state Shell Fish Commission.
The new national General Committee on September 28, 1925, offered the following recommendations :
I. The scientific analysis of the shell fish beds with re- striction of marketing from doubtful areas. 2. Sanitary handling, storage and distribution, including health certif- icates for oyster openers. 3. Compulsory tagging or re- cording of each lot or shipment whereby it may readily be traced to its original source.
Meanwhile, the state of Connecticut had been roused to action. The board of health, following the oyster scare of 1924, became much more thorough in its investigations of fit oyster grounds and found it necessary to restrict certain areas for market purposes. The Sanitary Code for the use of oyster growers in Norwalk and other coastal cities and towns, as approved by the Connecticut Public Health Coun- cil, March 16, 1925, and supplemented August 2, 1925, contained a number of regulations for growing, handling and selling oysters, among which was: Each grower and each wholesale distributor of shell fish must furnish with each shipment, a record of the source of supply, or the certif- icate number of the area from which it was taken. Three certificates are being issued by the state Department of Health; one certifying oyster beds after analytical examina- tion; one for shucking houses after personal inspection, and one for shell oysters. The last two are filed with the U. S. Public Health Service for a record available to other states. During the years, 1925 and 1926, local growers made plans to engage bacteriologists and chemists at their own expense in order to promote the general welfare of the industry and to prove to the public, the purity of their product.
SEWAGE POLLUTION -
The appalling losses which Norwalk in conjunction with other towns and cities in the state suffered in the oyster busi-
363
OYSTER INDUSTRY
ness through the pollution of the Sound waters, caused by domestic and factory wastes, is set forth in the Biennial Re- port of the Shell Fish Commissioners of Connecticut, 1927- 1928. The commissioners, Howard Beach of New Haven, Charles Marsh of Easton and William Lewis of Bridge- port said :
"This commission has often called attention to the increas- ing loss to our industry by domestic and factory wastes. Connecticut has now ceased to produce oysters for the con- sumer market in any quantity of economic importance. Such packers as still exist are obliged to have large holdings in Long Island or Rhode Island and so must carry our Con- necticut oysters to other states in order to mature them for market. Some of the oldest and best known growers have ceased altogether to produce oysters for direct retail trade, but are producing only for sale to planters in other states. In this way, over 50 per cent of the gross income of the business is lost to the Connecticut industry and to other home interests. For example, in New Haven harbor from the Breakwaters to Tomlinson Bridge there are approxi- mately 5,900 acres of suitable ground, a large part of which was formerly used for maturing oysters.
"Today, this entire area is embargoed by the Board of Health for growing oysters for direct sale to the consumer. An accurate record of 50 acres of this territory shows that for the ten year period, 1905 to 1914 inclusive, a total of 677,372 bushels of oysters were planted, which is an average of 1,335 bushels per year per acre. A modest estimate of 50 per cent increase by growth would yield on this basis about 2,000 bushels which at the present market price of $2.50 would mean an annual production of $5,000 per acre. Compare this with upland produce and then realize how tremendous is the loss to the whole industry of the state by the continual pollution of our harbors and inshore waters."
The year 1929 finds the Norwalk oyster industry in a very sad condition as the result of pollution in the harbor waters. At the present time, by order of the State Board
364
ROMANCE OF NORWALK
of Health, not a single oyster may be removed from the beds, public or private, within the Norwalk city lines, for the consumer market. Oyster growers are permitted to re- move young oysters for sale as seed, or to remove them for transportation to cleaner beds for purification, after which they may be sold to the consumer market, but none may be removed for direct consumption. The insidious damage done by pollution in the harbor is not confined to mere clos- ing of beds. It reaches even farther than that, to the very heart of the industry, oyster propagation.
During the past years sewage drifting down the Norwalk river into the harbor and from the coastline into the harbor has covered the oyster bottom grounds with material or "sludge" rendering them unfit for oyster sets, for the tiny oyster likes clean water and cannot exist in slime or when smothered in muck. It is estimated that it is at least seven or eight years since there was a real oyster set in Norwalk. This year, announcements were very discouraging and little was reported anywhere in this section, with the exception of a light set in the Compo district.
The State Board of Health visited Norwalk in September of year 1929 to make tests but gave only disheartening re- ports. The Board first placed a ban on the local beds in 1925. At that time it was rumored that various upstate interests were concerned with buying up the Norwalk beds at low prices (owing to the pollution element). Norwalk oyster growers announced their grounds were not for sale and nothing came of it. Since 1925 a greater or lesser amount of the Norwalk grounds has been under the state health ban.
What is the solution of the probem? A sewage disposal plant is the answer, according to the veteran oystermen of the city who have struggled for years to get Norwalk to see the matter through their eyes. This year 1929, it ap- peared that the oystermen would realize their dream, for under the administration of Mayor Anson F. Keeler, the sewage disposal plant idea was adopted by the city fathers.
-
1:01
----
Dva. CO
-
--
Fxax
C.
******** * *******
THE WILS
........
THE
RAPCL
THE
******
Co.
THE
J. W. BAYLEŞ
C, W BILL
1445
.
-
444
₦47
STANIAM
DARIEN
NORWALK
-
€
-
WESTPORT
OYSTER GROUNDS
1928
[ HOWAND W BEACH CHAS D. MARS* WM.A.LEwą
-
NORWALK OYSTER GROUNDS UNDER STATE JURISDICTION Key will be found in Appendix.
THE
.***
365
OYSTER INDUSTRY
The "old timers" in the Norwalk oyster industry are of the opinion that the new sewage disposal plant will have a bene- ficial effect on the local oyster beds, shortly after it com- mences working, and that within two years after the time when it begins operations, the beds will be in condition to be worked once more. Figuring that the plant will be finished, if present hopes materialize, in about 1931, then Norwalk should see a decided improvement in the local oyster industry in the year 1933.
The sewage disposal plant will keep the oyster beds clean. It will relieve the water of sufficient pollution so that the oysters, when it is time to dredge and sell them in the fall, will not rate a high bacteriological count.
VALUES AND TAXES
It is estimated that a fair valuation of the natural beds in the Norwalk harbor in prosperous times would be about $250,000. Today, very little. The value of the private beds in the Norwalk harbor in prosperous times is unknown though it might well run into a million. The last assessment on 1929 taxable shell fish grounds under the jurisdiction of the city of Norwalk, according to Tax Commissioner Bal- com's office was $13,870. This assessment is, of course, for all private grounds under city jurisdiction, because of course there are no assessments and no taxes paid on natural or public beds.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.