Wolf Lake Fish Hatchery
Largest diversified fish hatchery in the world
Isaak Walton League
The Isaak Walton League, one of America’s oldest conservation organizations, was founded by Chicago area sportsmen in 1922. Shortly thereafter, local supporters formed the William Locher Chapter of the Isaak Walton League (named for a local outdoor sports enthusiast) in Kalamazoo. Conservationists had already been eyeing Kalamazoo County as a possible site for a new state fish hatchery and the local Waltons took up the challenge.
McKoewn Farm
In April 1927, chapter president Henry Pierce secured an option to buy a portion of William McKoewn’s farm at Wolf Lake some ten miles west of Kalamazoo near the Van Buren County line. Conveniently situated where the “West Main street road” (M-43) crossed the “Williams-Allegan road” (Fish Hatchery Road), McKoewn’s property seemed ideal with its abundant supply of fresh flowing water and open meadowlands.
Wolf Lake Fish Hatchery postcard view, c.1940s. Private collection. The Wolf Lake project was brought before the state’s conservation department, which agreed to pledge one third of the $7,500 purchase price if local “Ikes” could raise the remaining $5,000. Once purchased the property would be turned over to the state for development. The deal was finalized in November and within months, work on the Wolf Lake site was underway.
By 1930, a dozen breeding ponds had been built and more were in the works. In May, the hatchery acquired additional property to the southwest, which included a former gristmill in Almena. The area was known for some of the county’s best fishing spots like Hayden Brook and legendary Whiskey Run.
Wolf Lake Fish Hatchery postcard view, c.1940s. Private collection. M-43 was open through to M-40 by then and was already a popular automobile route. One traffic-stopping sight along the way was the hatchery’s century-old water wheel. The wheel was removed from the historic Almena Mill and attached to a stone millhouse near the highway. With manicured gardens, picnic tables, and rustic shelters, the Wolf Lake site began to attract thousands of visitors annually.
A Civil Works Administration Project
Even during tough times, work at Wolf Lake continued in earnest. During the Depression years, four hundred workers were brought in as part of President Roosevelt’s New Deal to help with a five-year, $154,000 expansion project. CWA and FERA laborers dug several new ponds by hand and made other improvements in the hatchery and surrounding property. In 1937 an additional $25,000 expansion saw the construction of a log cabin community building and rifle range near the lake. More than just a “nice place,” the 426-acre Wolf Lake operation had become the largest diversified fish hatchery in the world.
Wolf Lake Fish Hatchery postcard view, c.1940s. Private collection. Wolf Lake Fish Hatchery Today
Today, the Wolf Lake Fish Hatchery continues to produce tens of millions of steelhead, salmon, walleye, and muskellunge for planting in Michigan lakes and streams. And just as they did a century ago, visitors can enjoy watching native fish navigate the deep clear pools, while learning more about conservation and the vital role still played by Great Lakes hatcheries.
Written by Keith Howard, Kalamazoo Public Library Staff, 2020.
Sources
Articles
“Up-to-Date Feed Mills”
Kalamazoo Gazette . 19 February 1902, p.3.
“Kazoo County Offers Many Opportunities for Pretty Little Automobile Trips”
Kalamazoo Gazette . 23 March 1919, p.23.
“Isaak Walton League To Have Local Chapter”
Kalamazoo Gazette . 6 April 1927, p.2, col.1.
“Name Pierce Head of Walton League”
Kalamazoo Gazette . 10 February 1926, p.15, col.1.
“How Crops Rotate At Fish Hatchery”
Kalamazoo Gazette . 2 May 1926, p.14, col.7.
“State Game Chief Here On Tuesday”
Kalamazoo Gazette . 10 April 1927, p.1, col.4.
“Walton League Takes Option On Hatchery Site”
Kalamazoo Gazette . 26 April 1927, p.2, col.1.
“Izaak Walton League Takes Option On 22-Acre Plat…”
Kalamazoo Gazette . 1 May 1927, p.21, col.2.
“Fish Hatchery Sites Visited By 2 Officials”
Kalamazoo Gazette . 4 May 1927, p.2, col.2.
“Fish Hatchery To Hinge On Rod Tax”
Kalamazoo Gazette . 4 May 1927, p.1, col.1.
“Confer Today On Hatchery Project”
Kalamazoo Gazette . 7 June 1927, p.10, col.4.
“No Funds For Fish Hatchery Project”
Kalamazoo Gazette . 8 June 1927, p.10, col.6.
“Young For Wolfe Lake Hatchery, He Tells Club”
Kalamazoo Gazette . 14 September 1927, p.1, col.5.
“Wolfe Lake Hatcheries”
Kalamazoo Gazette . 15 September 1927, p.6, col.1.
“Origin of Whiskey Run’s Name Veiled by Varied Traditions”
Kalamazoo Gazette . 27 September 1927, p.4, col.2.
“Wolf Lake Fish Project Up Today”
Kalamazoo Gazette . 5 October 1927, p.10, col.3.
“Defers Wolf Lake Hatchery Action”
Kalamazoo Gazette . 6 October 1927, p.1, col.6.
“Walton League To Meet November 8”
Kalamazoo Gazette . 2 November 1927, p.7, col.3.
“State Will Buy Wolf Lake Fish Hatchery Site”
Kalamazoo Gazette . 3 November 1927, p.1, col.8.
“Wolf Lake”
Kalamazoo Gazette . 4 November 1927, p.6, col.2.
“Hatchery Project Will Be Explained At Meeting Nov. 8”
Kalamazoo Gazette . 6 November 1927, p.8, col.1.
“Ozark Ripley Will Talk In This City”
Kalamazoo Gazette . 9 November 1927, p.12, col.6.
“Raise Over $1,700 For Hatchery Site”
Kalamazoo Gazette . 23 November 1927, p.16, col.3.
“The Wolf Lake Project”
Kalamazoo Gazette . 24 November 1927, p.6, col.2.
“Waltonites And C.C. Body To Meet”
Kalamazoo Gazette . 28 November 1927, p.1, col.6.
“Wolf Lake Fund Total Now $2,700”
Kalamazoo Gazette . 29 November 1927, p.1, col.5.
“Pierce Again Head In Local Chapter OF Walton League”
Kalamazoo Gazette . 8 February 1928, p.2, col.2.
“Tells Of Hatchery”
Kalamazoo Gazette . 1 March 1928, p.5, col.2.
“Walton League Luncheon Will Be Held Monday”
Kalamazoo Gazette . 1 April 1928, p.2, col.1.
“Wolf Lake’s Fish Hatchery Approved”
Kalamazoo Gazette . 18 June 1928, p.2, col.3.
“Work On Wolf Lake Hatcheries Opens”
Kalamazoo Gazette . 3 July 1928, p.4, col.4.
“Fish Conservation”
Kalamazoo Gazette . 4 July 1928, p.7, col.2.
“Pheasants To Be Propagated Here”
Kalamazoo Gazette . 10 November 1928, p.1, col.3.
“Excavating Two Hatchery Ponds”
Kalamazoo Gazette . 22 November 1928, p.12, col.2.
“At Wolf Lake”
Kalamazoo Gazette . 31 March 1929, p.6, col.2.
“Superintendent Named For Wolf Lake Hatchery”
Kalamazoo Gazette . 31 March 1929, p.22, col.1.
“Ikes Will Build Wolf Lake Tables”
Kalamazoo Gazette . 7 June 1929, p.1, col.3.
“At Wolf Lake”
Kalamazoo Gazette . 7 June 1929, p.4, col.2.
“Ikes Build Tables At Lake Hatchery”
Kalamazoo Gazette . 9 June 1929, p.1, col.4.
“Officials Here To Inspect Hatchery”
Kalamazoo Gazette . 6 May 1930, p.2, col.2.
“State Buys Almena Mill Property as First Step in $25,000 Project”
Kalamazoo Gazette . 27 May 1930, p.1, col.6.
“Another Good Project”
Kalamazoo Gazette . 29 May 1930, p.6, col.2.
“Push Development At Fish Hatchery”
Kalamazoo Gazette . 10 August 1930, p.16, col.7.
“State Officials Visit Hatchery At Wolfe Lake”
Kalamazoo Gazette . 4 September 1930, p.2, col.1.
“Lake Preserve To Have Electricity”
Kalamazoo Gazette . 4 September 1930, p.11, col.1.
“More Land Added To Hatchery Plot By State Board”
Kalamazoo Gazette . 5 September 1930, p.2, col.6.
“Wolfe Lake”
Kalamazoo Gazette . 5 September 1930, p.6, col.2.
“Begin Wolfe Lake Excavation For New Hatch-House”
Kalamazoo Gazette . 30 September 1930, p.4, col.1.
“Resurfaced Span of M-43 Will Be Opened Monday”
Kalamazoo Gazette . 18 October 1930, p.2, col.3.
“Bird Sanctuary To Be Beautified”
Kalamazoo Gazette . 31 October 1930, p.22, col.2.
“Wolf Lake Improvements”
Kalamazoo Gazette . 1 November 1930, p.4, col.2.
“Resume Work On Wolfe Lake And Almena Projects”
Kalamazoo Gazette . 22 February 1931, p.22, col.8.
“Pierce, Proposed for Conservation Commissioner, an Ardent Sportsman”
Kalamazoo Gazette . 29 March 1931, p.4, col.2.
“Improvements Progressing At Wolfe Hatchery”
Kalamazoo Gazette . 17 May 1931, p.21, col.7.
“J.G. Marks Made Overseer of New Wolf Lake Plant”
Kalamazoo Gazette . 6 September 1931, p.2, col.4.
“Wolfe Lake Fish Hatchery Greatly Expanded In 1931”
Kalamazoo Gazette . 1 January 1932, p.6, col.1.
“Wolfe Lake Fish Hatchery to Be Made Largest in United States”
Kalamazoo Gazette . 17 November 1933, p.1, col.4.
“Four Hundred CWA Workers Rush Wolfe Lake Hatchery Expansion”
Kalamazoo Gazette . 8 December 1933, p.15, col.2.
“CWA Crew Pushing Work On Wolfe Lake Hatchery Ponds”
Kalamazoo Gazette . 24 December 1933, p.2, col.6.
“‘Ikes’ Active In Hatchery Project”
Kalamazoo Gazette . 1 January 1934, p.11, col.5.
“Wolfe Lake Hatchery Grounds to Be Opened to Public on April 1”
Kalamazoo Gazette . 19 January 1934, p.9, col.2.
“Ikes Will Build Wolfe Lake Cabin”
Kalamazoo Gazette . 14 March 1934, p.1, col.5.
“Ancient Water Wheel at Wolfe Lake a Rare Sight”
Kalamazoo Gazette . 24 July 1934, p.2, col.4.
“Thousands Inspect Wolfe Lake Fish During Season”
Kalamazoo Gazette . 12 August 1934, p.10, col.2.
“Marks Family Gives 150 Years to Fish Culture”
Kalamazoo Gazette . 19 August 1934, p.2, col.2.
“Community Log Cabin to Rise at State Hatchery”
Kalamazoo Gazette . 28 February 1937, p.7, col.1.
“An Expert Hews Logs For Cabin”
Kalamazoo Gazette . 3 October 1937, p.1, col.4.
“Log Cabin, Hand-Hewn, is Rising at Wolf Hatchery ”
Kalamazoo Gazette . 3 October 1937, p.2, col.2.
“Old Picture Reveals History of Wolf Lake Fish Hatchery”
Kalamazoo Gazette . 26 June 1938, p.18, col.4.
“Wolf Lake Hatchery Dedication Next Sunday to Attract 6,000 Sportsmen”
Kalamazoo Gazette . 14 August 1938, p.12, col.1.
“Expect 10,000 To Attend Wolf Lake Dedication”
Kalamazoo Gazette . 17 August 1938, p.8, col.3.
“Wolf Lake Fish Hatchery Scene Of Dedication”
Kalamazoo Gazette . 21 August 1938, p.16, col.6.
“Dedication of Wolf Hatchery Attracts 5,000”
Kalamazoo Gazette . 22 August 1938, p.1, col.1.
“Waltonites Will Elect Next Week”
Kalamazoo Gazette . 5 April 1939, p.16, col.8.
“Neighbors Rebuild Pond ”
Kalamazoo Gazette . 10 September 1961, p.10, col.2.
“Wolf Lake hatchery scaling new heights of importance”
Kalamazoo Gazette . 14 March 1971, p.A-5, col.1.
“Wolf Lake Hatchery In For Big Expansion”
Kalamazoo Gazette . 4 July 1976, p.C-7, col.1.
“Wolf Lake State Fish Hatchery is not just about fish any more”
Kalamazoo Gazette . 1 December 1991, p.E-1, col.1.
“$50,000 in DNR funds to help reopen the Wolf Lake Interpretive Center”
Kalamazoo Gazette . 3 August 1998, p.8, col.1.
“Spawning some fish-hatchery history”
Kalamazoo Gazette . 20 April 2002, p.C-2, col.4.
Websites
Location, visitor center hours, hatchery tours, areas of interest, and more.
The Facebook page for Wolf Lake State Fish Hatchery and Visitor Center is managed by Friends Of Wolf Lake (FOWL) – Mattawan, MI