Rappahannock River Oysters

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The origins of Rappahannock River Oysters" can be traced to 1899. It was in that year that 24-year-old James Arthur Croxton, Jr., purchased five acres of leased river bottom in the Rappahannock River near Bowlers, Virginia. Only hoping to supplement his farm income, J.A. unknowingly kicked off a tradition that has yet to end in the Croxton family. In 1961, after nearly 30 years of working with his father and his brother James Harmon, William Arthur, Sr., assumed full control of the company and concentrated its efforts in Butylo, Virginia, where RRO still retains some 100-plus acres of leased oyster ground.

The company's techniques for growing their celebrated bivalve have changed since RRO's early days. Today their oysters are grown "off bottom," positioned squarely in the water column where food quality and quantity are greatly improved. Not only do the oysters grow faster, they grow richer, plumper, and rounder. The company monitors salt and temperature levels, guards against predators, culls out slow growers and misshapen shells - all to ensure that the customer gets a consistently healthy, attractive, and succulent oyster.