Bozeman National Fish Hatchery

Congress appropriated funding for a fish-rearing station in the Rocky Mountain region in 1891. The Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife founded the Bozeman facility in 1892, making this the fourth oldest fish hatchery in the National Fish Hatchery system. One of five in the nation, its purpose was to produce and stock trout and other trout-family species in Montana and surrounding states.

The original hatchery had an annual capacity of three million fish. The superintendent’s house and its bath cottage, built circa 1896, are the early facility’s last remaining structures. The late Queen Anne Shingle style residence and its attendant Stick style bath cottage reflect sound government construction.

The Shingle style, rare in Montana, strives to unify its complex outline with shingled surfaces. The delicate porch detailing, however, is distinctively Queen Anne. The house is unusually well reinforced with diagonal sheathing to withstand Montana’s heavy snowfall. The six rooms include a parlor, living room and hallway with a wide stairway and massive newel posts.

The simple bath cottage originally housed wash tubs until indoor plumbing was installed in the house. The first superintendent, Dr. James A. Henshall, and his wife Hester were in residence through 1908. Dr. Henshall was a medical doctor, a foremost fishing authority, and a prolific author. His book, Bass, Pike, Perch and Other Game Fishes of America, written in residence in 1903, is a classic volume of the American Sportsman’s Library.

Trout production ceased in 1966. Now one of seven national Fish Technology Centers, staff researches, develops technologies, and provides technical assistance on aquatic resource issues.