Sadler's Crab Meat Can

Sadler's Seafood was a lucrative business in Eastport. This one pound can was used to pack and sell crab meat to customers. Larger gallon cans would be sold to local restaurants.

This is a tin plated, one-pound crabmeat can from Sadler's Crab House (1947-1980). Sadler's was located on Third Street in the Eastport community of Annapolis. Herbert E Sadler, known affectionately as Herbie, was a well-known and well-loved waterman who, with his wife Gladys, mentored many local children in fishing, crabbing, and osytering.

Crab canneries were centered around the business of picking crabs, boilling the meat, and then sealing the can. Boiling the meat prior to sealing the can provided customers with a sterilized product. Sadler's was a packinghouse, not a cannery. Workers at Sadler's steamed fresh crabs, picked the meat, and capped the can. Sadler's crabmeat was shipped and stored on ice to ensure freshness.