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Charlotte Collection

Charlotte

Overview

The storyline of the trap boat "Charlotte" is, essentially, the history of trap boat fishing in Provincetown as seen through the entity of a single trap boat, the trajectory of its working life and, eventually, its brief resurrection and then permanent demise. Trap boat fishing was an environmentally sound concept and had its origins in the methods used for snaring and netting a catch of fish as devised by the indigenous American Indian who successfully fished Cape Cod's waters long before the white man followed in his footsteps. Using a stationary net with complicated arrangements for loading and then capturing whole schools of fish in significant numbers, it did not depend on methods of disturbing the bottom of fishing grounds nor on long trips offshore to coastal shelves where certain species congregate. In their heyday, trap boats hauled fish out of the traps by the thousands of pounds and the durable and sturdy trap boats, loaded to the gunnels with their catch, delivered them to the ice houses which cut and prepared and froze the catch for delivery to the markets. Furthermore, trap boat fishing constituted a healthy way of life and allowed the fisherman to follow a reasonable daily schedule: whereas, dragging for fish often provoked a taxing encounter with nature and sometimes a very deleterious one for both man and the environment upon which he depended for a living. [More...]

Showing all archives in the Charlotte collection
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  • Atlantic Coast Fisheries Cold Storage Photographs 1974
    Two black and white photographs of the interior of the Atlantic Coast Fisheries Cold Storage Trap...
    Collection: Charlotte
    Format: Photo
    Subjects: Atlantic Fisherman, Cold Storages, Commercial Street (Provincetown, Mass.), Fish trade--Massachusetts--Provincetown, Fish trapping, Fisheries--Massachusetts--Provincetown--History, Fishing villages--Massachusetts--Provincetown, Harbors--Provincetown--Mass, Historic buildings--Massachusetts-Provincetown, Industries, Provincetown (Mass.)--History--20th century, Waterfronts, Weirs, and Del Deo, Josephine
  • Trapboat Charlotte Archive
    Two photos - Bow and Stern shots of trapboat Charlotte as she was taken off the flats at the...
    Collection: Charlotte
    Format: Photo
    Subjects: Archaeology, Cape Cod (Mass.) History, Fish trapping, Fisheries--Massachusetts--Provincetown--History, Provincetown (Mass.)--History--20th century, and Weirs
  • Trapboat Charlotte Archive
    Two photos from the 1970's: Trap shed - Cape Cod Cold Storage. Freeman's wharf from deck of...
    Collection: Charlotte
    Format: Photo
    Subjects: Cold Storages, Fish trade--Massachusetts--Provincetown, Fish trapping, Fisheries--Massachusetts--Provincetown--History, Fishing, and Wharfs
  • Letter to Josephine Del Deo from U.S. Coast Guard 04/14/1975
    Letter from J.P.Stewart,Rear Admiral,U.S.Coast Guard to Josephine Del Deo, Sec.,Historic District...
    Collection: Charlotte
    Format: Text
    Subjects: Atlantic Fisherman, Cold Storages, Commercial Street (Provincetown, Mass.), Fish trade--Massachusetts--Provincetown, Fish trapping, Fisheries--Massachusetts--Provincetown--History, Fishing villages--Massachusetts--Provincetown, Harbors--Provincetown--Mass, Historic Districts--Massachusetts--Provincetown, Historic buildings--Massachusetts-Provincetown, Industries, Provincetown (Mass.)--History--20th century, Weirs, West End (Provincetown, Mass.), and Del Deo, Josephine
  • Provincetown Trapboat Fishing--The End of An Era
    Small pamphlet about the history of trapboat fishing, memoirs and history.
    Collection: Charlotte
    Format: Text
    Subjects: Barnstable County (Mass.) History, Cape Cod (Mass.) History, Cold Storages, Dories (boats), Fish trade--Massachusetts--Provincetown, Fish trapping, Fisheries--Massachusetts--Provincetown--History, Fishermen, Fishing, Fishing boats--Massachusetts--Provincetown, Fishing villages--Massachusetts--Provincetown, Harbors--Provincetown--Mass, Mackerel fishing, Provincetown (Mass.)--History--20th century, Sklaroff Wharf (Provincetown, Mass.), and Weirs
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