Elijah W. Reed (November 27, 1827 – January 27, 1888) was a ship captain from

Brooklin, Maine Brooklin is a town in Hancock County, Maine, United States. The population was 827 at the 2020 census. History Brooklin was originally part the larger town of Sedgwick. Brooklin broke off and formed its own town in 1849. A few weeks later, ...

, who is credited with establishment of the

menhaden Menhaden, also known as mossbunker, bunker, and "the most important fish in the sea", are forage fish of the genera ''Brevoortia'' and ''Ethmidium'', two genera of marine fish in the order Clupeiformes. ''Menhaden'' is a blend of ''poghaden'' ...

fishing industry in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

Northern Neck The Northern Neck is the northernmost of three peninsulas (traditionally called "necks" in Virginia) on the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay in the Commonwealth of Virginia (along with the Middle Peninsula and the Virginia Peninsula). The P ...

region. In 1874, Captain Reed moved his business to

Northumberland County, Virginia Northumberland County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 11,839. Its county seat is Heathsville. The county is located on the Northern Neck and is part of the Northern Neck George Was ...

, along the western shore of the

Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula, including parts of the Ea ...

, an area where local watermen had been long established. He introduced a method of extracting large quantities of oil from the fish, by rendering millions of fish. Their oil was used as a lubricant and in lighting, as whale oil was; and the leftover bones and carcasses were valuable as fertilizer. Reed opened the first processing plant in the area. By 1885, Reedville was heavily engaged in the menhaden fishing industry. Menhaden factories on Cockrell Creek produced fish oil, meal, and fertilizer from menhaden. The menhaden fishing industry brought tremendous wealth to Reedville and to Northumberland County. The unincorporated town of Reedville, Virginia, was named in his honor.

External links

Reedville Fisherman's Museum
1827 births 1888 deaths People from Brooklin, Maine Businesspeople from Maine People from Reedville, Virginia Businesspeople from Virginia American sailors 19th-century American sailors 19th-century American businesspeople {{US-business-bio-1820s-stub