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Walking through the 11 acre site, the path wanders past a boat used in the early 1900s at Yellowstone Lake to harvest trout eggs by D. C Booth and hatchery staff; a replica of Fish Railcar # 3 used to transport fish across the country from 1870s to 1940s; a replica of the hatchery’ s Ice House; the Historic Booth House built in 1905; and the National Fish Hatchery Museum housed in the original hatchery building built in 1899.

Hatchery raceways and ponds that are home for 50,000 trout. The underwater viewing area provides a peek into the habitat of a pond filled with rainbow, brown and cutthroat trout. Wildlife, ducks and other birds, fauna and flora are present throughout the hatchery grounds.

The historic and active components of the site provide tremendous opportunity for artists to glean ideas and inspiration for their creative endeavors. An underlying aspect of the art generated is the appreciation of nature and the interaction with the outdoors.

sculptures

Two life size sculptures created by local artist, Jim Maher, are found on the grounds. The“ Generations” sculpture features a grandfather and granddaughter going fishing complete with fishing poles. The“ Spring Stocking” sculpture depicts an early fish stocking into a Black Hills stream.

termesphere

Dick Termes created the“ Ripple in Time” termesphere which depicts over a century of hatchery history, along with fish culture and the love of fly fishing.

150th fisheries anniversary quilt

A quilt featuring 70 hatcheries was created for the 150th anniversary of federal fisheries. Quilt blocks were gathered from federal hatcheries in the United States. Local volunteers put the quilt together, creating an artistic masterpiece which shares visual depictions of all the hatcheries in the United States. The quilt has traveled to many states, being displayed at USFWS events.

photo contest

For the past several years, visitors to the hatchery have submitted their photos to the“ Capture the Hatchery Photo Contest.” The photographers’ unique ways of seeing and preserving aspects of the hatchery through the camera lens has been eye opening. The hatchery has incorporated many of the photographs into reports, souvenir products, displays, ads and promotional materials. plein air painting

Throughout the years, artists arrived at the hatchery with paintbrushes, canvas and easels. After finding a perfect location they spend time capturing the hatchery on their canvas. Included in this artistic endeavor have been a plein air group for the 125th anniversary, and several groups of Black Hills University art students.

hatchery – past and present

Pat Rogge, a Spearfish artist, created a painting depicting a current view of the National Fish Hatchery Museum, raceways and visitors, along with apparitions of long ago hatchery employees in the forefront.

books

The“ Lets Feed the Fish” children’ s book, published for the hatchery’ s 125th anniversary, is overflowing with watercolor art created by local artist Bill Feterl.

Pocket-sized picture books,“ Birds,” featuring photos of birds taken on the hatchery grounds by Shelly Burkhard,“ Fish” compiled by Kelsey Loverink, and“ The National Fish & Aquatic Conservation Archives” compiled by Tayla Bahr, feature fish and artifact photos.“ America’ s Bountiful Waters,” a tabletop book published by USFWS, features photos taken through the years, along with a selection of artwork by Bob Hines, an artist commissioned by the USFWS. A children’ s“ coloristory” book by Jo Powell tells the story of the hatchery through text, coloring and activity pages.

architecture

The interior and exterior structures of the National Fish Hatchery Museum built in 1899 feature the architecture style of Hector Von Bayer. Von Bayer is well known for his influence in the late 1800’ s and early 1900’ s across the United States. Many other structures including the Yellowstone Boat, the replica Railcar, the stone walls and the Booth House have historic structural qualities that have been preserved through creative artistic talent.

Nature and the Outdoors

The beauty of plants, wildlife and environment surrounding visitors provide opportunities to find inspiration and content for artistic creations. Spring, summer, autumn and winter provide different dynamics of the look and feel of the hatchery grounds.

Artists visiting the D. C. Booth Fish Hatchery effectively combine the visual aspect of art with the atmosphere of history and the outdoors. Artistic masterpieces featuring the hatchery describe, examine, and analyze past events while stimulating thoughts, emotions, beliefs and ideas through the senses.

Truly, the story of fisheries and D. C. Booth Historic National Fish Hatchery continue to flourish as the hatchery’ s history is shared through art.

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