Palestine Public Library ~ 201 South Washington Street ~ Palestine, IL 62451
Phone: 618.586.5317 ~ Fax: 618.586.9711
 

                               

                                

             

 

 

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Did You Know...?

that there was a thriving pearl industry along the Wabash River in the early 20th century?  The button industry began pre-1905 when men worked the Wabash River for shells to sell to the button factories in the area.  The meaty part of the shell was fed to hogs and soon men and boys were digging for the pearls that could be found in the feed lots.  The rush for the pearls began in 1905.  Hutsonville was the headquarters for the many pearl dealers, having buyers come from all over the world.  Small pearls ranged in price from $3 to $50.  At first the shells were worth little with two local brothers, Ken and Tom Wallace, paying as little as $1.25 per ton but the price later increased to $63 per ton.  Besides being used by the button factories, the shells were also shipped to France and ground up for face powder and Japan for the cultured pearl industry.  The mussels were found in the riverbed, an average mussel shell being three to five inches long, having two halves that were tightly hinged.  Two men often worked the river together, one hunting for the shells, the other sorting and cleaning.  Legend has it that one of the pearls ended up in the crown jewels in the necklace known as the Dagmar Necklace, made for Queen Alexandra.  It was originally found by Jumbo Adams who is said to have sold the pearl for $800, which was later sold by the buyer to Tiffany's for $2,000.  Although there are still a few mussels to be found in the Wabash River, the river is now too polluted for them to be worth anything.  The mussel industry was banned for commercial harvesting in 1992.  Taken from "The Crawford County Wanderer", Robinson Daily News, November 3, 2001.

More information about Palestine's history can be found in books and newspaper articles here at the library.

 

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Hours: Monday-Friday (except Thursday) -- 10:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
Thursday -- 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Saturday -- 8:30 - 10:30 a.m.
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Design of this site was funded by The Leo A. Herning Foundation.