A Massachusetts Fish Story

For more than 200 years, Massachusetts has been fascinated with the codfish.

In Massachusetts' State House there are 40 state senators, 160 state representatives, and one cod. The cod hangs in the House chamber and has been part of the House for more than 200 years.

Called the "Sacred Cod," it is a four-foot, 11-inch wooden representation of the fish that once served as a food staple and fertilizer for the Pilgrims. The cod later made the fortune of many Massachusetts families. Ships would sail out from seaports such as Salem, Gloucester, or those on Cape Cod and venture to the West Indies, where they would trade the cod for spices, coffee, or molasses, or they would head to Europe for salt, fruit, and wine.

In earlier years, the fishing industry was so vital to the Massachusetts economy that fishing rights off Newfoundland became a sticking point in negotiations with England after the Revolutionary War and again after the War of 1812. While members of the House in 1895 were preparing for a move to a new chamber, they debated whether to bring the wooden cod with them. The House created a committee of three to research the cod's history and write a report. ** According to that report, 1782 negotiations in Paris hinged on three important issues - the boundary line, recovery of British debts, and fishing rights. Samuel Adams, who represented Massachusetts along with Elbridge Gerry, argued the banks off Newfoundland were open to all nations. The stubbornness of New England's representatives eventually wore down the British negotiators, and Massachusetts secured its fishing rights.

The issue again came up in 1814 in Ghent, when negotiations with the British hinged on two issues, the British right of navigation of the Mississippi, and again, the right of fishermen to fish off Newfoundland. The North and South were divided on these negotiations, with the fishing rights being critical to the New England states, and the Mississippi important to the South. New England's representative this time around was Adam's son, John. The in end, Adams succeeded not in reaffirming the right, but in negotiating a compromise that was silent in both of those issues - so that there was no abandonment of the right, according to the 1895 House report.

The codfish carving currently in the House is the third. The first one was destroyed in a 1747 fire at the Old State House, and second was destroyed during The Revolutionary War. The current cod dates back to 1784, and its maker is uncertain. The House report suggests it may have been carved by patriot John Welch, but Welch may have been the creator of one of the previous cods that were destroyed.

Today the Atlantic cod has become victim to overfishing. In the early 1990s, Canada imposed a moratorium on fishing in the Newfoundland's Grand Banks, so today most of the Atlantic cod comes from Icelandic waters.

Fish Facts

- The phrase "codfish aristocracy" referred to Massachusetts families who made their fortunes from fishing, and it was sometimes used as a term of reproach.

- In 1933 the "Sacred Cod" was "cod-napped" by members of the Harvard Lampoon magazine.

- The House chamber is not the only fishy room in the State House. The chandelier in the Massachusetts Senate's chamber has a fish worked into the design called the "Holy Mackerel."

** The Historic Codfish. Wright and Potter Printing Co., State Printers, 1895. Compiled by a committee of the House.

Author: C. Danko
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