Did you know that Daufuskie Island used to be a hub for oyster processing in the early 20th century?
The Daufuskie oyster is the common Crassostrea Virginica species that thrives from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. What sets these oysters apart is their distinctive growth patterns. Due to the island’s unique shoreline and tide ranges, accompanied by a lengthy spawning season, they grow in clusters rather than individually. Oysters were popular and accessible and enjoyed by all social classes. They also presented an avenue for ambitious individuals to achieve wealth and influence.
This leads us to the L. P. Maggioni and Company in 1870, founded by Italian immigrant, Luigi Paoli Maggioni.
Maggioni leased oyster beds on Daufuskie and eventually, began shucking and processing on the Island. His Daufuski Brand Oysters were renowned and even sold worldwide. The can’s iconic label pictured an illustration of a Native American man wearing a feathered headdress. The brand was advertised in newspapers across the country in the 1930s.
According to Jenny Hersch, co-author of Daufuskie Island — Images of America, L.P Maggioni and Company established an oyster factory on the Island in the 1880s. This factory provided jobs to island residents and workers from neighboring islands and employed about 50 seasonal Polish workers.
Initially, a retail seafood dealership, the L.P. Maggioni and Company grew rapidly and peaked during the mid-1900s with over 2,500 employees.
From its headquarters in Savannah, GA., the company managed multiple canneries across Georgia and South Carolina, including Thunderbolt, Harris Neck and Brunswick, GA, as well as Beaufort, and Charleston, SC. By the 1980s, the business had undergone a transformation to specialize in oysters, becoming one of the country’s longest-running oyster canning operations. They packaged and labeled a range of products still recognized today as art.
Today, you can still buy those small red cans of Daufuski Brand “Fancy Whole Boiled” and “Smoked” oysters from big box retailers. Although the brand still exists, Liberty Gold Fruit Company in California now owns the name.
