Fish Hatchery

Originally established in 1879, the Forest Park Hatchery was the first fish culture activity in Missouri. Initially containing 9 ponds and totaling 14 acres, the hatchery produced and stocked 890,000 carp at its peak in 1894. These early means of culturing and stocking fish included the use of aquarium railcars and milk cans to transport fish. Today this fish hatchery is no longer operated for fish farming but rather for educational programming. The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) maintains the five remaining ponds for fishing workshops and water quality sampling programs. Visitors can walk the trails in and around the hatchery ponds and regularly see a wide array of water birds such as great egrets, green herons, kingfishers, and black-crowned night herons.