THE OLD FISH HATCHERY

In 1879, three years after Colorado became a State, the General Assembly took steps to build the State’s first fish hatchery.  A committee was formed to find and purchase suitable grounds for the hatchery.  A bill was signed appropriating $2,650 for the purchase of the ground and erection of buildings.  According to Fish Commissioner Wilson E. Sistys, in his 1881-1883 biennial report to the Governor, several sites were inspected.  The final selection was an 11-acre plot 8-1/2 miles northeast of Denver.

Construction was started in November 1881 and by the middle of December 100,000 eastern brook trout eggs were already placed in the new hatching troughs.  Of the original 100,000 eggs 99.2 percent hatched.  In April 1882, various lakes and streams were stocked with 240,000 small fish.  There were also some 40,000 fish sold to individuals.  The original hatchery, which was made of wood, was rebuilt out of stone in 1922.

The hatchery continued to produce fish for Colorado streams and lakes until the fall of

1963.  By then the quality of the water in the Platte River combined with the low production rate made it not feasible to continue operation.

Finally, after being almost completely surrounded by the metropolitan sprawl, plans were made to sell the old facility for an industrial site.  However, in 1969, the legislature made it mandatory for people to take a safe hunter course.  With this new requirement, the Division of Wild Life decided the facility could still be useful as a training classroom and rifle range.  In 1973 the old hatchery was remodeled to make one large classroom in the front and a seven lane rifle range in the rear.  Since the remodeling in 1973, more than 30,000 students have learned the finer points of handling firearms.  So the old hatchery still remains as a very useful site for the Division of Wild Life Programs.  All things considered, for such a small investment, made so many years ago, they are still getting pretty good returns from the old hatchery.