After spending our morning at the local laundromat, we left Gillette, WY with our destination being our Nation's first National Monument, Devils Tower.

I had just mentioned to Steve that I wanted for visit a fish hatchery. How fun that one was right next to our campground. Established in 1896, D.C. Booth Historic National Fish Hatchery and Archives, formerly Spearfish National Fish Hatchery, is one of the oldest operating hatcheries in the country dedicated to fish culture and resource management.

And why the need for such a place? In the late 1860s, it was clear that fishers were wiping out salmon and American shad on the East Coast. The feds had to do something. Congress, with what in retrospect seems a strange confidence, charged the new Commission of Fish and Fisheries with the task of “supplementing declining native stocks of coastal and lake food fish through fish propagation."

The need for fish became very important. During World War I, governments launched "Eat More Fish" campaigns to conserve beef, pork, and lamb for troops fighting on the front lines. Agencies like the U.S. Food Administration and the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries urged citizens to replace meat with wild-caught seafood, reminding the public that fish “feed themselves” and save products of the land. At the time, meat indicated wealth while fish was often viewed as low-status (déclassé). Advocate Evelene Spencer traveled across the United States to teach citizens how to prepare and cook alternative seafood options like carp, bass, and trout.

This train car piqued my curiosity. Before the invention of refrigerated tanker trucks, fish hatcheries were faced with the problem of how to quickly move fish from hatcheries to lakes and rivers around the country. Voilà a train car. During the Fish Car Era, 66-year period that played a key role in fisheries propagation, ten specifically designed railcars were constructed; and by 1920, fish cars had carried over 72 billion fish across 2 million miles of railroad track. D.C. Booth displays the only federal fisheries railcar exhibit in the country, showcasing a replica of Fish Car No. 3.

The D.C. Booth Historic National Fish Hatchery is vital because it is a pioneer in western trout management, preserves the nation's largest collection of fisheries history, and actively stocks fish for regional tribal and military waters. The hatchery continues to raise thousands of catchable trout each year. Stocking tribal waters provides recreational fishing opportunities, but also food and a boost in economically depressed areas. How cool is that?!

Speaking of cool, this was our home for the night. All is groovy!