Sharp County record., 1877-07-27
EHEr RECORD.
p. w. .Aackicy, Publisher.
nss n a1c--
I S9ENING SHADE, ARE :
ne Oyster Trade at Perth Am
boy.

-. gdIueu dS dluohS lh0 hANS'
@lN world. What are termed the Great
'Olc eds or Amboy Grounds cover nearly a
ousand acres, and comprise most OF
elS'e bottom of the mouth II haritan
ay. When first discovered about fifty
y ths.ars ago they were covered with a
art lick natural growth OF oysters, "the
"Stake of which," as an old Perth Amboy
MAJ an said, "was never seen before"
hE hey were then free to all corners, and
tne yntinued so for several years, and
eep hndreds of thousands of bushels were
SAal ken away, until the grounds became
most cleared. In 1881, a company
imposed of forty-eight men from
lerftlEewark, Elizabeth, and Perth Amboy,
M 1r y btained grant from the Legislature,
itmar nd took possession of the coveted ter
q aIc oIl tory. Mr.. T. j. Sophield, one OF the
assuIdest oystermen of Perth Amboy, who
n tLc re tas then a young man, gives the fol-
eyer,wing reminiscence of the trouble that
rtc' nsued: "This company" he said,
,ycril commenced to plant off-shore, using
st, eed from Newark Bay and the Raritan
omi a liver, which they bought at shilling
ala bushel. Abram Bloodgood had
rdt barge of this business, and started
e anjtore in Perth Amboy, and paid the
y, :, aen one half in goods and the other
: ag glalf in oysters for the planting. At the
Us ! nd of three or four years, when the
mp oysters had got their growth, and were
d to bout ready for the market, the oyster
bou vyut nen from other places began to growl
nd insinuate that the monopoly would
'"i uin the business. They threatened
rouble all round if something wasn't
" lone to stop it, but the company paid
on 10 attention to their threats.
rer ssAbout the 18th OF September, 1881,
g The enemy-we called 'em by that name
no t:hen-invaded the bay. 1t was on
theSunday morning, and remember when
Us 1w[ sauntered out of the house | looked
nilg,ver to Wards Point. The water over
russse,;here was swarming with schooners
yea-gith men on board, and from their ac-
m ]mneio ms knew they meant mischief. The
ougwhole town was shortly afterward made
iUT Sou aware of the presence Of the strangers,
file I'd some were in favor of 'em and
!, IL, IN 0ane weren't. The feet lay at anchor
YFatl night, and remained SO until Mon
Y vday afternoon, when they lifted their
lid anchors, and every sloop let loose from
D One to three skiffs, each holding two
on men, ard if they didn't everlastingly
ase grub the oysters Pm ghost. Them
!; feller8 worked harder and faster than
BI ever saw oystermen work before, and
by nightfall they had their sloops load
ed down to the rails with the company's
oysters. Then they hoisted sail and
Y they went down and out of the bay
Fwith the tide. The company sent to
,m New Brunswick for militia company,
Hen and the next day the soldiers came down
y in boat to disperse the enemy should
tafthey return; but, bless you, the enemy
did come back, and what's more,
e' 3, they didn't pay any more attention to
a a Them than if they had been so many
04 oysters, as they pushed 'em aside and
,n hauled up the oysters as fast as they
Deould. By this time the company had
a5 their eyes opened, and they came
.nto the conclusion that rather
en- en- Than lose all, they'd grub
opf their own oysters too Then they hired
p.almost every man, woman and child in
nns Amboy to work for 'em on the halves,
emf and the wharf was covered ten feet
~ !, high with oysters. Itwas good thing
fa for all of us. 1 cleared some days as
much as $25, and almost all my neigh
,,e5 bors did the same. This rivalry lasted
II between five and six weeks, the stran-
- gers comingin light every day and going
heavily loaded At last the beds
4 we're cleaned out. The company saved
n expenses, and perhaps made little.
Had they been permitted to continue
z on uninterrupted, they would have been
q the richest set of men in this country.
As it was, this invasion of outside oys-
ter men broke up the monopoly, and
y the beds afterwards remained free until
1910. Then l and others of the town
II staked off grounds, and we have been
" planting ever since. The State derived
z some revenue from us, but afterward,
mi