[CONNECTICUT] [QUARRY] [FISHING] Shaler Family Brownstone & Shad Fishing Archive

1803-1918. A fascinating archive of nearly 60 individual pieces of paper spanning the beginning of the 1800's all the way to the early 1900's. Located on the Connecticut river, the area around Haddam was first known to the Native American's as a good place to fish for shad in the early spring. As the area was populated by settlers, this family, The Shaler's (aka Shailer, Shayler) settled in and became known first for fishing and then for quarrying the sought after Brownstone that built the metropolitan areas of Boston and New York. What is most interesting about these papers is the specific accounts of commerce handwritten on each page. From an account of land sold in 1803 to a letter written in 1914 stating the desire to resign from the board of the Quarry Co. to fight in W.W.I, this archive spans multiple generations of trade and business.

Many of the handwritten bills of sale are either written by or for Captain Timothy Shaler (1808-1871). The captain sailed the Sloop Mary Ann and was responsible for supplying the Brownstone that was taken from the perimeter of the river down to New York and Brooklyn. The first large scale commercial quarry operation in the Portland, CT area was purchased for $3000 in 1788 by Nathan Shaler and Joel Hall. By 1818, Shaler and Hall had increased the value of their investment nearly fifteen-fold. During the quarries' heyday from 1850 to 1890, as many as 1,500 men, 150 yoke of oxen, 60 team of horses, and 40 quarry schooners were involved in the movement of stone. In this archive we find handwritten ledgers, stating the large numbers of pieces of brownstone, what they were for, and where they were going. For instance, one handwritten ledger from 1835 has stone measurements for a bridge, gutters, and curbs being shipped on the Sloop Mary Ann by Capt. Shaler. Another ledger from 1827 finds Capt. Shaler shipping Footings to New York. Other papers communicate sales of goods to the Captain or personal invoices for medicine and doctors visits for the Captain and his family. One large, folded paper from 1826 records the sales of shad in Albany and other vicinities including the size and price of each barrel. This is a particularly valuable archive that tells the story of commerce that was so enriching to the specific area at the time but no longer exists. Item #4202

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