06/08/2026
From the Vault: "Holy" Shell! 🦪
Discovered in an uncatalogued collection, this freshwater mussel shell caught our attention because of its unusual perfectly punched holes. Thanks to Williams-Mystic's Dr. James T. Carlton, we learned these holes are remnants of the early 20th-century pearl button industry, where circular button blanks were cut directly from mussel shells.
Before plastic buttons, millions of freshwater mussels from rivers like the Mississippi and Ohio were harvested by fishermen known as "clammers." Using specialized tools, they gathered mussels from river bottoms before the shells were shipped to factories and transformed into buttons. Towns like Muscatine, Iowa, became major centers of production, turning river mussel shells into buttons sold around the world. About a dozen mussel species were heavily harvested for button production, and many of them remain endangered today, facing ongoing threats from pollution and invasive species.
Today, this shell serves as a reminder of a once-thriving industry—and the freshwater mussels that made it possible. Check your family button box—you may have a piece of this history tucked away at home!
Learn more in this short video from Iowa PBS: https://www.pbs.org/video/national-pearl-button-museum-ifk4af/
Collection objects: 2026.2.3 & 2026.2.3.1
