Page:History of Barrington, Rhode Island (Bicknell).djvu/684

 558 THE HISTORY OF BAERINGTON. Fisheries. The fin and shell fisheries have always been a source of income to our town. Clams, quahaugs, scallops, and oysters, have been obtained from time immemorial on all our long shore line, from Bullock's Cove to Bar- nejsville, and while no estimate has ever been made of the value of these fisheries to the people, it may be estimated at thousands of dollars annu- ally. In 1865 the census reported 7,510 pounds of fish caught, and 962 bushels of clams, 457 of quahaugs, and 1,000 of oysters. The total value of the shell fisheries was $2,313, but this was a low estimate of the value of the fisheries to the townspeople. Herring were caught in Barrington River at the fish ditch connecting the river with Prince's Pond, by Joshua Bicknell in the last century, and the regulation of prices is referred to under town legislation prior to 1800. Shad were and are obtained in large quantities in Barrington and Palmer's Rivers, and scup, tautog, and blue-fish, are plentiful in the waters of the Bay, and have been a source of food supply for generations. About i860, the oyster industry was started in Barrington by Mr. Bowden in Barrington River, and is continued by his sons, Charles H., Wheaton, and Samuel Bowden, at the present time. About 1S70, William H. Allin planted oysters in Narragansett Bay, and, later, Higgins & Co., and others of Boston, and Blount & Hunt established oyster plants at Bullock's Cove. Later, the Buckinghams, J- E. and J. B., established oyster plants at Annawomscutt, and the flats between Bullock's and Xayatt Points have been made to yield large returns for the labor and capital invested. The fresh water food supplies to these oyster beds pro- duce the best oysters, and in Boston and other markets, the Narragansett Bay oysters are at a premium over all others. A capital of at least $50,000 is now invested in the business. Industrial Changes. Fifty years ago the chief occupation of the people was farming. At the present time very few cultivate the land except in the raising of vege- tables and fruits for family consumption. A few notable exceptions exist in the cases of Mr. George H. West, who carries on extensive market gar- dening and milk producing, at Nochun Hill; Mr. Charles J. Smith; the Gardners, father and sons, who have profitable farms at Rumstick; Mr. John F. Richmond, on the old Richmond farm; the Pecks, — Edwin F., William H., and Leander R. ; Joseph R. Martin, and a few others. With the city influences and residents in Barrington, it has become a suburban town, and most of the business people of the town transact their various enterprises in Providence. The industrial change has been a very striking one, and mai-ks the new era on which the town has entered. Easy communication with the city, to be greatly increased during the present year by the construction of the Electric Railroad from Providence to Bris- tol and Fall River, has made our younger population practically business