Rappahannock River Oysters owners Travis and Ryan Croxton used to know absolutely nothing about oyster farming, but they did know a lot about family history.
A Chesapeake oyster company based out of Topping, Va., Rappahannock River Oysters began in 1899 when Travis and Ryan’s great-grandfather bought just five acres of leased river bed bottom in the nearby Rappahannock River. He passed that business over to his son — Travis and Ryan’s grandfather — who would grow that initial investment into 100-plus acres of leased oyster ground, earning himself the nickname of “white-collar oysterman” for his habit of shucking oysters in his suit.
After his passing, however, the business was nearly abandoned. But in 2012, with the leases on their family’s oyster ground about to run out, brothers Travis and Ryan decided to revive the century-old family tradition of oyster farming.
James' World 2 