LORE: In 1885, Joel Henry Rickel, an ex-military commander from Kansas, received a contract
with the Fulton Turtle Cannery of Rockport to
catch Sea Turtles that weighed 200 lbs. and over.
In the 1880’s, our Commercial Fishing and Boat
Building were getting started. These would become viable industries for both Rockport and
Fulton - right when the Cattle Industry was starting to decline.
In the 1890’s, the local Packeries switched from
Cattle to Sea Turtles, and our Aransas Bay was
loaded with them. By 1900, the Turtles were
nearly gone, and the Packeries were shut down.
Sea Turtles
(sp. Chelonia