Along the Riverfront with Bob Burtnett — Dec. 31, 1964 in the Chillicothe Bulletin

Clamming was an active business in the Chillicothe area for only a brief period of time comparatively speaking.  From 1904 until 1910 or 11 the people in this area made quite a thing out of clam fishing.  

The tall poles, or pipes, at each corner of the boat were used as racks to hold the clam rod while the clams were stripped from the hooks.

Ten to 15 lines, about 20 inches long, extended from each clam pole and to these were attached three or four pronged hooks.  

The fisherman would lower the clam poles so that the hooks would slide along the bottom. The clams faced upstream with their shells open ready to “catch” their food.  

When the hooks touched them they grabbed onto them and wouldn’t let go until they were stripped from the hooks by the fisherman. There were no barbs on the hooks and stripping was easy.

After stripping off the clams the fisherman would row back upstream, reset his pole and let the boat again drift down over the clam beds.

Although a number of fine pearls were found, the main source of income from the shells was sales to button factories.

The process of getting the clams to open up was a rather grisly and very smelly operation. The clams were tossed into large vats of water.  

A big fire was built beneath the vat and when the water reached boiling point the open shell was tossed up on the racks where they were searched for pearls.

After inspection the shells were tossed up on the bank and left to rot out and dry before shipping to the button factory.

For a time there was at least one button factory in Chillicothe at the foot of Walnut Street. This building served various purposes during its lifetime. In addition to being a button factory, it was a storehouse for the Eagle Packet Co. and later a storehouse for Joe Neal’s fishing equipment. I remember Joe telling me that many years ago.

The year of 1909 was the peak for clam fishing in the Illinois River. Over $4,000,000 worth of clams were taken from the river that year. Contamination from Chicago and other up river towns finally killed off all the clams and nearly all the fish too.

Nearly 5,000 men were engaged in the clamming industry. The cost of the shells rose from $4.per ton in 1905 to $12.00 per ton in 1909. Muscatine, Iowa had the largest button factory in the Midwest and the bulk of the shells were sent there.

The largest sales of pearls were made to European buyers. One buyer from France made the largest single purchase in 1909. It was for $400,000. So far we can learn the Persians usually bought more than anyone else.

From the local records it would appear that the largest single pearl was found in Chillicothe. It was found by Harry Cudahy, then just a lad, and was valued at $3,000 and weighed 71 ½ grams.

This pearl was the matter of considerable litigation as Harry accused his guardian, John Wood, of switching it with a marble.  

Harry couldn’t see the humor of the situation and started a suit to recover it. Whether the charges were legitimate or whether the suit was won or lost, I could never discover.

Along the Riverfront with Bob Burtnett was a column in the Chillicothe Bulletin from December 1952 until December 1975. The Chillicothe Historical Society recently turned those columns into a new book with the same title.