Port Norris Pickings 1885

Port Norris is located along the beginnings of the Maurice River and bordered by the Delaware Bay. Port Norris, in 1883, was divided into two sections, Port Norris, which included the town's center and North Port Norris, also known as Middletown, located from approximately where Parson's Lane intersects North Avenue to Sockwell Lane. It was given the name of Middletown because it was located between Port Norris and Haleyville. Later it became known only as North Port Norris and eventually just Port Norris as it is known today. In 1883, there were 885 people who called, Port Norris and North Port Norris, their home. In just two short years both had experienced an explosion of growth. Houses were being built at an incredible rate and the builders could not keep up with the demand of people looking for places to live. The population had more than doubled and the oyster industry employed over 5,000 men and over 140 boats plied the waters of the Maurice River Cove and Delaware Bay, planting and harvesting that delicious, succulent oyster. Port Norris was given the nickname of the "Oyster City" and its fortunes would rise and fall each year on the fate of the oyster. The wealth being created by this tiny mollusk was unbelievable. There were more millionaires per square mile in Port Norris than any other place in New Jersey. Port Norris, in a few short years, and for many years to come, would boast, and rightly so, of being the "Oyster Capital of the World." This book contains information provided from newspapers of the day published in Bridgeton, New Jersey. Some people of the town, called "local correspondents" would write down the "happenings" of the week and send it to the papers to be published. The correspondents would go by nicknames or just an initial located at the end of the day's story. Hopefully, this will give us a glimpse of what life was like in our small village many years ago. This book is the third in a planned series of books dedicated to our unique little oyster village, which would explode in growth and prosperity and capture the attention of an entire State.

Author: Thomas Hollinger

Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform

Publication Date: Jun 12, 2018

Number of Pages: 166 pages

Language: English

Binding: Paperback

ISBN-10: 197910333X

ISBN-13: 9781979103336