Anyone who has enjoyed a round of mouthwatering oysters on the half shell at Grand Central’s iconic Oyster Bar has something great in common with the native Lenape peoples who once lived in the area.

An oyster stand at the Fulton Market, 1867. These stands would be extremely busy as people streamed in for lunch or dinner. From Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper May 18, 1867, Volume 24, Issue 607.
Using Manhattan island for hunting, fishing, and trading, the Lenape also had a long tradition of carefully cultivating oysters and other shellfish, along with lobsters. In fact, they ate oysters in such large quantities that they left behind massive shell middens, some up to fifty feet high. The peoples who came before the Lenape also enjoyed the bounty of bivalves, with one shell midden uncovered in Dobbs Ferry, just north of the city, dated to 6950 B.C.E. Other finds from Inwood and the native village of Shorakapok uncovered numerous middens, along with burials of dogs covered in shells.

A shell midden discovered on Seaman Avenue in Inwood, near the native village of Shorakapok. A dog was found buried nearby, with the grave covered in shells. From Washington Heights Manhattan; Its Eventful Past by Reginald Pelham Bolton.
The European explorers and traders who came to the area noted the prevalence and high quality of oysters found in the area. On Henry Hudson’s 1609 voyage, officer Robert Juet reported in his journal that the natives brought “very good oysters” to trade. Settlers on Manhattan, clustered around Fort Amsterdam, supplemented their food stores with oysters, which were plentiful and could be easily plucked out of the ground. There were an estimated 350 square miles of oyster beds in New York, with oysters that could be up to a foot long (found in Gowanus Bay, no less) or, as others reported, the size of dinner plates; lobsters caught in the cold waters around New York could be up to six feet in length (!). One of the enduring legacies of the humble mollusk is the name of Pearl Street, which was most likely named after the shells that were used to pave the road, as they shone like pearls in the sun.

Gowanus Bay, 1867. The construction of the Gowanus Canal was underway, out of view, and the bay, which once had such fertile oyster beds that the footlong oysters were noted by Europeans, would soon become polluted from the increasingly industrialized neighborhood. From History of Long Island from its discovery & settlement to the present time, Volume III by Benjamin F. Thompson, 1918.
So many people were procuring oysters in New Amsterdam that in May 1658 an ordinance was issued requiring that no one should “dig or dredge any oyster shells” on the East River or North River (Hudson River). As docks were built and lower Manhattan was extended, people had to go farther out to get their beloved oysters. There were several nearby islands that had considerable oyster banks, including Little Oyster Island (Ellis Island) and Great Oyster Island (Bedloe’s, now Liberty Island). The Gowanus Bay, of footlong oyster fame, was another popular spot, as was Jamaica Bay, although both would be highly susceptible to pollution over the years.

Boats and barges at the foot of 10th Street. From The Oyster Industry by Ernest Ingersoll, 1881.
By the early 19th century, oyster shacks dotted the city, offering oysters for a penny, perfect for a quick lunch. Some were mobile and would set up operations on street corners for easy access, the forerunners of today’s hotdog carts and food trucks. Folks who lived or worked near the East or Hudson River could buy fresh oysters directly from the oyster boats. Basement oyster houses were identified by their characteristic red lanterns, and offered all-you-can-eat oyster specials that were often paired with copious amounts of beer. Besides fresh oysters, one could have them steamed, roasted, baked, devilled, pickled, and made into all sorts of soups, stews, puddings, and other dishes.

Another oyster stand at the Fulton Market, 1870. Oysters were so plentiful that they could be bought for a penny each, and served fresh or fried. From Harper’s Weekly, October 29,1870, Volume 14, Issue 722.
The Fulton Market had oyster stands that stayed open until the wee hours of the morning, catering to the constant stream of late-night diners. By the 1880s, the market was selling upwards of 50,000 oysters a day to ravenous consumers, and in 1900 it was reported that New Yorkers were eating the equivalent of 600 oysters per person each year. By the end of the century, patrons could take home fresh oysters in Frederick Wilcox’s newly patented “oyster pails,” which were later adapted by Chinese restaurants for their takeout boxes.

Scenes from the beginning of harvesting season, September 1882. This continued in earnest through April, when harvesting stopped to let the young oysters have time to grow. From Harper’s Weekly, September 16, 1882.
Of course, over-harvesting took a devastating toll on the city’s oyster beds, which were rapidly shrinking by the year. Wild oysters had long given way to seeding oysters from areas like the Chesapeake, but this wasn’t enough to meet the city’s voracious demand. The waterways were also becoming increasingly polluted by sewage and other waste dumped into the water, and the bacteria that causes diseases such as cholera and typhoid could be easily transmitted to shellfish, causing outbreaks. City officials started to close off the oyster banks in Jamaica Bay, although they did little else to address the cause of the pollution. In 1927, the last oyster banks in the harbor were closed, and the remaining oyster bars were only selling imported oysters.


The massive oyster beds of Jamaica Bay (top), and boats laden with oysters to take to market (bottom) c. 1900. Nearly half a million tons of oysters were still being harvested from Jamaica Bay at the time. From The New metropolis: Memorable events of three centuries, 1600-1900, edited by E. Idell Zeisloft.
Fortunately, over the past 40+ years there have been efforts to clean up New York harbor, spearheaded by organizations such as The River Project and Baykeeper. Others such as the Billion Oyster Project have worked with teams of scientists, environmental conservators, and marine professionals, along with a dedicated army of volunteers, to restore oyster reefs across the city. These will provide many benefits to the city, as each individual oyster can help filter 50 gallons of water a day, the reefs attract other important sea life, and they can form living storm barriers that could prove invaluable in the upcoming decades.
Select sources
A Description of New Netherland (The Iroquoians and Their World) by Adriaen van der Donck, edited by Charles T. Gehring and William A. Starna, and translated by Diederik Willem Goedhuys
New York Historical Manuscripts: Dutch, Vol. 8, Council Minutes, 1656-1658, translated by Charles T. Gehring and Janny Venema
The Big Oyster: History on the Half Shell by Mark Kurlansky
The Oyster Book: A Chronicle of the World’s Most Fascinating Shellfish, From Early Humans to Climate Solutions by Dan Martino
Hudson Primer: The Ecology of an Iconic River by David L. Strayer