The Oyster Makes its Mark on Sayville History

This year marks Sayville’s 250^th anniversary and the community will he holding a daylong celebration October 1 at The Common Ground. To commemorate this historic occasion Sayville Patch is running a series of stories that looks back on the history of the hamlet. This fourth installment looks at the early days of the oyster industry.

Economic growth in Sayville throughout the 1800s was dominated by the oyster.

The fortunes of the fledgling community rose and fell with the little shellfish that would help to put Sayville on the map. The story began in 1815 when Captain Humphrey of nearby Blue Point planted some of the first oyster “beds” in the Great South Bay. Soon oyster beds planted throughout the area would be known as Blue Point oysters.

Known for having a very unique flavor, demand for the shellfish would skyrocket, causing the oysters to be overharvested to the point that by 1820, they were virtually extinct. From then until the 1840s, Sayville had to rely on other industries to support it.

Fortunes changed for Sayville at the end of the 1830s when oysters dumped into the bay from Virginia multiplied rapidly. As the oyster population recovered, so did the industry. In 1849, it would take off again with the arrival of Dutch immigrants to Sayville. Using techniques they learned in Europe, the Dutch came by the thousands and through the use of what would today be called “sustained harvesting,” they took the oyster business to a new level. Because of their contributions, the oyster industry rapidly recovered and soared to even greater heights.

By the end of the 19^th century, the Blue Point oyster reigned supreme in the restaurants of New York and throughout the world. Oysters were harvested in the morning then sailed to New York to be sold. After 1870, the railroad, newly arrived in Sayville, made this process cheaper and faster. Soon oyster beds in the bay were individually owned by locals.

Throughout the latter 1800s the business boomed, reaching its peak in 1900, when more than 100,000 barrels of oysters were shipped by rail. In addition to this, the business employed more than 500 boats and 1,100 men. The boom in the oyster business also helped other businesses in Sayville, including barrel makers, metal workers, boatmen, boat builders, carpenters and prep workers.

As a result, Sayville became a rather wealthy community. The streets, including Main Street, were paved with “sea gold” -- the shells from the oysters harvested from the bay. The Oyster Institute of North America was formed in Sayville in 1885, as was Oysterman’s bank in 1899. By the early 20^th century, many of the smaller oyster businesses’ in the area were bought out by larger companies. Perhaps the most famous of these oyster tycoons was Jacob Ockers, who owned the famous Blue Point Oyster Co. In the early 1900s, his business was the largest oyster company in the world, which made our town the oyster capital of the world.

However, due to increasing pollution from nearby duck farms, overharvesting, theft and the like, the oyster business became more and more unprofitable through the years. But, perhaps the biggest blow came with the 1938 hurricane, which destroyed more than half of the oyster crop.

David Moglia is a Sayville resident is a very keen interest in local history. He can be reached via email at dlmoglia@gmail.com.

Sources:

Dickerson, Charles P. A History of the Sayville Community, including Bayport, Bohemia, West Sayville, Oakdale, and Fire Island. S.l.: S.n., 1975. Print.

"Oystermen at Work." Sayville Library Home Page. Web. 29 Sept. 2011. http://sayvillelibrary.org/oystering/oystermen_at_work.htm.