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Oyster Industry 1900
(For more Norfolk geography tidbits, click here.)
"Oyster Industry"
"For many years, Norfolk County has been one of the prinicipal seats of the great oyster industry of the Atlantic Coast and her bivalves have acquired a well-deserved farm in the great markets of the country.
Most of the oysters handled at this port are ‘tonged,’ that is, picked up from the rocky bottoms by  means of tongs that resemble garden rakes fastened together like the two arms of a pair of fire tongs. They have handles about 12 to 30 feet long, enabling the ‘tonger’ to work in water of that depth. The last legislature, however, so amended the oyster laws that dredging is permitted when the special consent of the State Board of Fisheries is obtained.
All Norfolk County oysters enjoy a good reputation, but the greatest prestige attaches to the celebrated ‘Lynnhaven’ oysters [in today’s Virginia Beach]. These come from Lynnhaven Bay, just inside of Cape Henry, in Princess Anne County, formerly included in Lower Norfolk County. The supply of ‘Lynnhaven’ is limited and the price is always high. They are shipped away in the shell for high-class restaurant and hotel trade, and figure on the bill of fare at Delmonico’s and other places of a similarly high character...."
(from Stewart's History of Norfolk County and Representative Citizens, pp.413-414)
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