Bozeman Fish Hatchery: Montana's First Federal Trout Factory
Near Bozeman, Montana
Congress authorized this hatchery on Bridger Creek in eighteen ninety-two, and by eighteen ninety-six the first buildings stood at the entrance to Bridger Canyon east of Bozeman. It is described as the fourth oldest in the entire national system. Its first superintendent arrived in January of eighteen ninety-seven and soon began shipping trout eggs across the West.
The hatchery's mission was straightforward: stock the rivers and lakes that railroad travelers and settlers were steadily fishing out. Over a century later it is still operating, now more a research and education center than a restocking hatchery. The original stone and brick structures from the eighteen nineties are listed on the National Register of Historic Places and still stand on the campus.
