Buttons from the River

Residents of Stevens Point relied on the Wisconsin River not only to transport logs but also to supply clam shells for the button industry. Clammers found abundant quality shells in the river to support a commercial venture, and in 1920 a factory at the foot of Franklin Street opened to stamp circular button blanks from the pearly inner surface of the shells. Clams were picked by hand in shallow water deep enough to wade, while in deeper water clammers used flat-bottomed johnboats with bars on either side and crowfeet, small hooks hanging from chains, dragged across the river bottom until an open mussel snapped shut on them and could be raised and removed. Live clams were steamed in long metal-bottomed, wood-sided troughs to expose the meat, which was then removed and discarded, and the clams were also examined for pearls. The steaming and cleaning of shells took place on Second Island, now underwater, west of Bukolt Park.

Stevens Point, Wisconsin · United States