Timeline

Oysters first appear on Earth.

The Chesapeake Bay is formed. A rare bolide (a comet- or asteroid-like object) hits what is now the lower tip of the Delmarva Peninsula, creating a 55-mile-wide crater. This crater influences the shape of the region’s rivers and determines the eventual location of the Chesapeake Bay. As sea levels fluctuate over the next several million years, the area that is now the Bay alternates between dry land and shallow coastal sea.

Paleo-Indian people arrive in the Chesapeake Bay region.

Ice sheets and glaciers continue to melt, flooding the Susquehanna, Potomac, James and York rivers. Water pours into the Atlantic Ocean and sea levels rise. The Chesapeake Bay's modern-day outline begins to form.

The first oysters colonize the Bay.

The Chesapeake Bay's outline now resembles its current form.

The Native American population reaches 24,000.

Captain John Smith first explores the Rappahannock River.

War and disease take their toll on Native Americans, whose population shrinks to just 2,400.

Colonists begin using hand tongs to harvest oysters from deeper waters. Prior to this, oysters were generally collected along the shorelines. Virginia lawmakers pass legislation to prevent wasteful fishing practices on the Rappahannock River.

A Swiss visitor to the Chesapeake, Francis Louis Michel, was amazed at the number of oysters. He observed, "The abundance of oysters is incredible. There are whole banks of them so that the ships must avoid them. . . . They surpass those in England by far in size, indeed, they are four times as large. I often cut them in two, before I could put them into my mouth."

The first signs of environmental degradation occur. Colonists strip 20-30% of the region's forests for settlements. As a result, shipping ports begin to fill with eroded sediment, becoming too shallow for boats to navigate. Farmers begin to use plows extensively, starting a cycle of permanent tillage that prevents reforestation and leads to massive soil erosion

Dredging equipment appears in New England and is so efficient that local supplies are swiftly exhausted.

New England fishermen travel to the Chesapeake Bay with the new dredges and begin taking serious tolls on Chesapeake beds. Virginia and Maryland eventually ban this equipment and create legislation that allows only its citizens to transport oysters in the state waters.

Railroads, canals, and steamboats allow the oyster market to reach consumers outside of the Chesapeake region. The number of oysters harvested from the Bay doubles in the last 10 years, from 700,000 bushels in 1839 to more than 1.5 million in the 1850s.

Dredges are now legalized, and this proves a huge factor in the expansion of the industry. In that year, Maryland's harvest nearly triples to 5 million bushels and Virginians takes 2 million bushels.

James Arthur Croxton, Rappahannock Oyster Co.'s founder, is born in Middlesex County, Virginia.

A peak harvest of ~24 million bushels is taken from the Bay (nearly half the world's supply). Canneries located in Baltimore and elsewhere along the Bay are supplying not only much of the United States but other countries as far away as Australia.

In an effort to defuse warring oystermen (the famed "Oyster Wars"), as well as encourage 'investment' in the Bay, the Baylor Survey was established to create private oyster leases.

James Arthur Croxton leases 2 acres of Rappahannock River bottom, unofficially founding Rappahannock Oyster Co.

William Arthur Croxton, Sr. is born in Middlesex County, Virginia.

Hurricane Hazel strikes the Rappahannock River, destroying all of William and James Croxton's oyster beds, as well as their boats.

Two hurricanes (Connie and Diane) flood the Rappahannock River, causing a drop in salinity that lasts less than two weeks, but a significant percentage of oysters in the upper end of the river die over just a two-day period.

James Arthur Croxton passes away.

William Croxton passes away and Rappahannock Oyster Co. ceases operations.

Cousins Ryan and Travis Croxton are informed by their fathers that their family's century-old oyster leases are about to expire with the state. The two take over the leases with the intent to plant in the spring.

Rappahannock Oyster Co. is officially reborn with the purchase of 3,000 oyster seed.

Le Bernardin becomes first account for the reformed company, soon followed by Jack's Luxury (NY), Shaffer City (NY), and Equinox (DC).

Ryan and Travis are named to Food & Wine Magazine’s Tastemaker’s List.

Opened Merroir Tasting Room

Opened Rappahannock Oyster Bar

Opened Rappahannock Restaurant at 320 East Grace Street, Richmond, VA.

Opened Rapp Session at 318 East Grace Street, Richmond, VA.

Opened Rappahannock Oyster Bar in Charleston, SC.