By Sharon Oliver
Contributing Writer
SCITUATE – Millions of people likely do not know that the South Shore seacoast town of Scituate once had a thriving industry in harvesting seaweed or how much we rely on this marine plant and algae, for that matter. More specifically, Scituate became well known for its abundance of a red algae species called Irish moss.
Something familiar
Sometime around 1847, an Irish immigrant fisherman named Daniel Ward set sail off the coast of Boston and spotted something he was familiar with from his native homeland of Ireland. He immediately knew he had struck gold. Back home, the Irish harvested this moss particularly for food support since it played a crucial role in helping families survive hardships like the Great Irish Potato Famine.
Seizing upon what he saw as a new opportunity, Ward abandoned fishing to start an old entrepreneurial endeavor in a new land at a time when Scituate was unpopulated by the Irish. Ward and his friend, Miles O’Brian, began building the Irish mossing industry. Not long afterwards, as word started to spread, Irish immigrants fleeing the potato famine from 1845 to 1849 moved to Scituate to be a part of this growing industry. With so many Irish immigrants flocking to Scituate and knowing the importance of practicing their faith, Ward even opened his home to the public and hosted Catholic Mass.
During that time, mossers dried their harvests on the beaches with the help of wives and children. This new occupation also paved the way for another job opportunity during harsh winters when and if shipwrecked sailors needed rescue. In 1871, the U.S. Lifesaving Service was formed, giving mossers freedom to join the Lifesaving Service as rescuing surfmen during mossing downtime season. Known as the “Irish Mossing Queen,” a sprite nine-year-old Mim Flynn from Scituate gained national recognition and was covered by newspapers as far as Canada for hauling moss on her dory to earn money during the Great Depression.
Photo/Wikimedia Commons
Industry boom and bust
During World War II, the mossing industry boomed and by 1949, there were five American companies producing purified Irish moss extractive including the Krim-Ko Corporation in New Bedford. In the 1960s, Lucien Rousseau was the town’s last Irish Moss King. By 1997, the mossing industry ended abruptly but there was a combination of factors as to why, including foreign competition and people unwilling to do it. These days, seafront properties take up possible drying space.
Irish moss is also a thickener and stabilizer used in milk-based products such as ice cream and yogurt, soups, sauces, smoothies, along with some processed foods. Seaweed can also be found in some toothpastes, moisturizers and yogurts. Combined with ascorbic acid, Irish moss helps form the preservative film found over frozen foods and traditional medicine uses it for respiratory ailments like coughs and bronchitis. Other medical and health use include digestive aid, energy boost and skin soothing for burns and rashes.
Irish moss will forever be remembered for drawing folk from the Land of Saints and Scholars to Scituate. According to the 2010 census, the coastal town had the highest number of people claiming Irish ancestry than any other town in the U.S, earning it the nickname “Irish Riviera.” To learn more, visit the Scituate Maritime Irish Mossing Museum which is devoted to the area’s history of its salt-crusted Golden Age. It is worth a visit.
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