Over time, mussel harvests started to decline due to overfishing and pollution, and by 1930 most of the mussel beds were depleted. In 1899, there were about 60 button factories in the Mississippi basin, and more than 21,000 tons of mussels were harvested that year. In 1898, a hefty 138,615,696 buttons were made in Iowa. Women and girls were left to sort buttons according to size and color, and they also sewed the buttons onto cartons to be sold. Boys manned the grinding machines that removed the rough outer shells. These highly-paid jobs were usually held by men. The most skilled job was that of the cutters – a difficult procedure of cutting the button shape from the shells, which was initially done by hand. The button factories employed thousands of people within the plant and on the river. Buttons were cut by hand from the shells and then polished, sorted, and packed. The meat was then removed, and the shells cleaned. Mollusks were gathered from the river and boiled so that they could be pried open. The Mississippi basin experienced a rush similar to any gold or diamond rush you’ve heard of. Within ten years, Muscantine became the largest manufacturer of freshwater mollusk buttons and became known as the Pearl City. When he heard of the abundant supply of mussel shells in the Mississippi River with their beautiful iridescent coating, he realized they would make a superb material for high-quality buttons. Back in Germany, Boepple made buttons out of materials like animal horn. In 1891, the German immigrant John Boepple opened the first button factory in Muscantine, Iowa, next to Mississippi River. The Pearl Button Factories of the Mississippi Ever wondered about pearl skeletons? Here are two, plus a good story. But for anything that’s been around for such a long time, there are bound to be a few skeletons in the closet. Myths and legends were created and kings funded armies with pearls.
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