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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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  • Freeman's Wharf Trap Shed Demolition ,1975-Photograph
    Photograph of demolished trap shed on Freeman's Wharf(now the location of the U.S. Coast Guard...
    Collection: Charlotte
    Format: Photo
    Subjects: Atlantic Fisherman, Cold Storages, Commercial Street (Provincetown, Mass.), Docks, 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, Provincetown Heritage Museum, Waterfronts, and Weirs
  • List of the CCRHS students who retored trapboat Charlotte
    Two lists of the students from Cape Cod Regional Tech (shown in picture file 624-002 and 003)who...
    Collection: Charlotte
    Format: Text
    Subjects: Archaeology, Boats and boating, Boys, Cape Cod (Mass.) History, Fish trapping, Fisheries--Massachusetts--Provincetown--History, Fishing boats--Massachusetts--Provincetown, Industries, and Provincetown (Mass.)--History--20th century
  • Trap Boat "Charlotte" Bringing in a Catch
    Black and white negative photo (undated) of the trapboat "Charlotte" and crew bringing...
    Collection: Charlotte
    Format: Negative
    Subjects: Atlantic Fisherman, Cold Storages, Fish trade--Massachusetts--Provincetown, Fish trapping, Fisheries--Massachusetts--Provincetown--History, Fishermen, Fishers, Fishers--Massachusetts--Provincetown, Fishing, Fishing boats--Massachusetts--Provincetown, Fishing villages--Massachusetts--Provincetown, Harbors--Provincetown--Mass, Provincetown (Mass.)--History--20th century, and Weirs
  • Color photo of trapboat Charlotte after restoration
    Color photo of trapboat Charlotte after restoration in Warren "Pinky" Silva's yard in...
    Collection: Charlotte
    Format: Photo
    Subjects: Archaeology, Boats and boating, Fish trapping, Fisheries--Massachusetts--Provincetown--History, Fishing, Fishing boats--Massachusetts--Provincetown, Industries, Provincetown (Mass.)--History--20th century, Weirs, and Costello, Paul
  • Historc District Committee Thanks Coast Guard for Attempting to Save Trap Shed
    Article quoting letter written to Coast Guard by Historic District Study Committee thanking them...
    Collection: Charlotte
    Format: Newsprint
    Subjects: Atlantic Fisherman, Cold Storages, Commercial Street (Provincetown, Mass.), Fish trade--Massachusetts--Provincetown, Fish trapping, Fisheries--Massachusetts--Provincetown--History, Fishing boats--Massachusetts--Provincetown, 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 Wharfs
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