During the late 1800s and early 1900s, freshwater mussels were harvested from many local waterways to supply material for a booming button industry. But as…
Buttons
Buttons
January 9, 2015 Buttons During the late 1800s and early 1900s, freshwater mussels were used to make buttons. Harvests took place throughout the Midwest, including Illinois and our own Fox River. Annual harvests totaled tens of millions of pounds per year. By 1908 many mussel numbers were severely depleted, and many species were near extinction.