Early History of Oystering in the Waters Off City Island in the Town of Pelham

Please Visit the Historic Pelham Web Site
Located at http://www.historicpelham.com/.
Please Click Here for Index to All Blog Postings.
Recently I have devoted efforts to researching the history of oystering in the waters off City Island in the Town of Pelham during the early 19th century.  For a few of the many examples of postings to the Historic Pelham Blog that deal with oystering, see, e.g.

January 1882 Account of the 1881 Christmas Festival Held at the Union Sabbath School in Pelhamville

Please Visit the Historic Pelham Web Site
Located at http://www.historicpelham.com/.
Please Click Here for Index to All Blog Postings.

A quaint January 1882 newspaper account of a Christmas Festival held for the entertainment of young students at the Union Sabbath School at Pelhamville appeared in an issue of the Mount Vernon [New York] Chronicle.  The account, contained in a letter to the

City Island News Published in January, 1882

Please Visit the Historic Pelham Web Site
Located at http://www.historicpelham.com/.
Please Click Here for Index to All Blog Postings.

In early January, 1882, a brief account of news from City Island in the Town of Pelham appeared in the Mount Vernon [New York] Chronicle.  The brief account appears below.

"City Island.

Grace Church Sunday-school held their Christmas festival on Wednesday

News in the Town of Pelham in January, 1888: Newly-Opened Sparks Avenue Causes Real Estate Rush (and More)

Please Visit the Historic Pelham Web Site
Located at http://www.historicpelham.com/.
Please Click Here for Index to All Blog Postings.

Below is the text of a column that appeared in The Chronicle of Mount Vernon in January, 1888 detailing news in the Town of Pelham.  There are a number of interesting little tidbits, including a reference to the recent opening of Sparks Avenue and the

Advertisement for the Pelham Priory School Published in 1881

Please Visit the Historic Pelham Web Site
Located at http://www.historicpelham.com/.
Please Click Here for Index to All Blog Postings.

The Bolton Family of Pelham operated the Pelham Priory School for Girls for much of the mid-19th century.  The school was held in Bolton Priory in Pelham Manor.  Bolton Priory is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  Below is an image of an

Town of Pelham School Board Trustee Election of 1881

Please Visit the Historic Pelham Web SiteLocated at http://www.historicpelham.com/.Please Click Here for Index to All Blog Postings.Residents of the Town of Pelham, including women who owned property, voted in the Town election for two School Board Trustee positions in 1881. A very brief account of the results appeared in the October 13, 1881 issue of the New-York Tribune. The text of that

1885 Report Notes Decline of Oyster Industry Near City Island in the Town of Pelham

Please Visit the Historic Pelham Web SiteLocated at http://www.historicpelham.com/.Please Click Here for Index to All Blog Postings.In 1885, the Commissioner of Fisheries of the State of New York issued a gloomy report about the decline of oysters in New York waters. The report focused on the area around City Island in the Town of Pelham as "typical" of such declining oyster beds.A news account