The Union City Fish Hatchery
During the first week of June, 1905, Mr. A. Buller of the State Fisheries Department was in Union City looking for a suitable site for the new fish hatchery that the state planned to build.
Mr. W.M. Hubbell drove Mr. Buller around to several places that were seemingly well adapted for a fish hatchery. After going over the ground carefully, Mr. Buller told a Union City Times reporter that he was favorably impressed with Union City as a suitable location for the hatchery. Girard, North East and Waterford all wanted the hatchery site and The Times urged Union City people to get a move on if they wanted the hatchery in their town.
If the hatchery was located in Union City, the borough would have to donate the 21 acres of land to the state. "Let the Business Men's Exchange take hold of the matter at once, "the Times urged. About a month later, in July 1905, the town fathers of Union City received a letter from Harrisburg. The letter indicated that the new fish hatchery probably would be located in Union City if the borough would comply with state requirements. The committee appointed to help bring the hatchery to Union City has about closed negotiations for 35acres of land for a site for the hatchery and has raised almost enough money to pay for it. The Union City Times said, "There is no doubt but what the hatchery will be located here and work on the same commenced at once.
Two months from the time Mr. Hubbell drove A.G. Buller around to look at possible sites for the hatchery, Mr. Buller had an announcement to make. On Thursday, September 21, 1905,Mr. Buller welcomed Fish Commissioners Meehan and Whittaker of the State Fish Commission, and Mr. John Hamburger to Union City. The officials accepted the deeds for the land east of Union City recently purchased by popular subscriptions. The men said that work on the new fish hatchery which will cost$15,000 will start at once. The last state legislature authorized the establishment and location of the hatchery.
HATCHERY HAPPENINGS
1906
March 13, 1906
A.G. Buller, Superintendent, said that the lake trout are now in process of hatching at the Union City Fish Hatchery and that all visitors will be made welcome at any time.
April 10, 1906
A.G. Buller, Superintendent, reported that another large shipment of fish from the Union City Hatchery was sent to Erie Sataurday and deposited in Lake Erie.
April 17, 1906
Two more large shipments of lake trout were made from the Union City Hatchery to Erie last Friday and Saturday. There is still more to follow.
May 1, 1906
A.G. Buller, superintendent of the Union City Fish Hatchery, has been in Erie the past week assisting in the shipping of wall eyed pike and fry from the hatchery there to the suitable waters in various parts of the state. About sixty million have been sent out and many of them were placed in Lake Erie.
June 5, 1906
About four and one half million lake trout have been put into Lake Erie, Conneaut Lake, Lake Pleasant and samller lakes from the Union City Fish Hatchery this spring.
July 10, 1906
The Union City Fish Hatchery summer improvements are being pushed ahead steadily.
July 17, 1906
There is not a prettier nor more instructive place to go and spend a halfholiday or an entire day than the Union City Fish Hatchery east of town. Visitors are always welcome.
September 21, 1906
Superintendent A.G. Buller and his wife, Reverend and Mrs. C.H. Williamson of the Presbyterian Church, Dr. and Mrs. J.A. Hodgins, Mr. and Mrs. A.L. Caflisch, Mr. and Mrs. Fred Caflisch, Mrs. Ernest Caflisch , Charles Hubbell and Jay Smith all went to Lake Pleasant Tuesday. They fished for bass with which to stock the ponds at the local fish hatchery. They had a delightful day, but a small catch of fish.
October 8, 1906
Superintendent A.G. Buller of the Union City Fish Hatchery, just received a fine new American flag, eight by twelve feet. It will soon be floating from the pole on the hatchery grounds east of Union City.
October 22, 1906
Superintendent A.G. Buller of the Union City Fish Hatchery received another large consignment of black bass containing some fine specimens from the hatchery at Erie Saturday morning. They have been placed in the ponds at the hatchery and will be allowed to propagate sothat in the spring there will be a large number of young bass fry to plant in the streams and lakes of Pennsylvania.
October 29, 1906
A large consignment of black bass, rock bass and cat fish was received at the fish hatchery last Saturday.
December 6, 1906
The three upeer dams at the Union City fish hatchery were washed out by the heavy rain of last night. All of the fish contained in the upper ponds were lost, including more than one hundred two pound black bass.
A hole was washed in the dam at one of the ponds at the Union City Fish Hatchery. Superintendent A.W. Buller's pet black bass left school and gaily swam out into French Creek for a joyful holiday. They will probably be landed in Murray Peters' pond and will rest there. They will be brought back to their own fire side little worst for the trip. A few dollars will make good the damage to the hatchery.
December 6, 1906
Union City Fish Hatchery Superintendent A.G. Buller received a consignment of about 100,000 lake trout eggs from their boat which is still in commission on the lake. This is the first received at the hatchery this winter, but it is expected that at least 2,000,000 eggs will come along later from the government hatcheries.
December 10, 1906
State Fish Commissioner W.P Meehan has sent to A.G. Buller, Superintendent of the Union City Fish Hatchery, a number of blank applications for use in this section. Parties who want fish for lakes, steams, etc, can secure these applications by addressing Mr. Buller. They should apply at once so that their applications may be filed as soon as possible. The deliveries will be made in the early spring.
1907
January 14, 1907
A.G. Buller, Union City Fish Hatchery superintendent, arrived home from Northville, Michigan last Friday and brought two million and a half fish eggs of the lake trout variety from the hatchery. A.G. told the Union City Times that that was only the beginning of what will be received later.
March 25, 1907
Several cans of brook trout fry were received in Union City Saturday morning from the Corry fish hatchery and distributed in the streams east of Union City.
April 1, 1907
A consignment of 200,000 lake trout was shipped to Erie from the Union City hatchery last Friday and placed in the waters of Lake Erie.
May 22, 1907
State Fish Commissioner W.E. Meehan said that during the past few weeks a million and a half young trout have died of a strange epidemic at the Corry Hatchery. The matter is to be investigated.
Superintendent A.G. Buller of the Union City Fish Hatchery forwarded a large number of fish cans to Erie yesterday. The fish at Erie are hatching out so rapidly that they need a hundred cans daily to transport them.
Hanging Around the Union City Fish Hatchery
Muskellunge, trout, walleye, bass – all of these fish wait in French Creek for the whirr of the line and the skim of the fly across the water. Fish, French Creek, and the Union City Fish Hatchery belong together. Lyle Showers and his memories, A.G. Buller and his trout hijacking and Ray Young and his fingerlings and fry all combine to make 1890 and 1905 and 1992 interchangeable for fishermen and the Union City Fish Hatchery.
In his reminisces at the Union City Historical Museum, Lyle Showers recalled that in the mid 1890s, bass fishing improved dramatically in French Creek. A few years later, he discovered that a cousin of Perry Stranahan, who was connected with the U.S. fisheries, told Perry that he was travelling through Union City with a large shipment of large bass on the train when they began to die. The P& E conductor stopped the train on a bridge on the upper part of Clark’s Pond and dumped the entire shipment of fish into the pond. Before this happened, very few bass could be found in French Creek.
Lyle said that in the 1890s, brook trout were quite plentiful in upper French Creek and he saw fishermen catch several of them just above the Main Street Bridge in Union City.
Then, in June 1905, A.G. Buller came to Union City and fishing became less of a random cast and more of a planned fishing trip. A.G. Buller was from the State Fisheries Department and he came to Union City to locate a suitable site for a new fish hatchery. William Hubbell drove A.G. Buller to several likely places, taking care to point out how suitable they were for hatchery purposes. He had to convince A.G. that Union City was better than Girard, North East, and Waterford, who were competing with Union City for the hatchery.
William Hubbell was a convincing salesman. He sold A.G. Buller on the site and by the end of July 1905, Union City officials had received a letter from Harrisburg outlining the requirements that they had to meet. The borough donated the 35 acres that the Fish Commission needed and raised enough money to pay for them.
By September 22, 1905, Fish Commissioners Mr. Meehan and Andrew Whittaker of the State Fish commission and John Hamburger of Erie were visiting Union City as guests of A.G. Buller. They accepted the deeds for the land east of the city and authorized work to begin on the new fish hatchery which would cost about $15,000. Mr. Meehan and Mr. Whittaker said that they were well pleased with the location of the grounds and promised that this would be one of the best hatcheries in the state.
Ground was broken at once for the first of the hatchery buildings which would be 40 x 100 feet in dimension and the work was scheduled to be completed as soon as possible. The hatchery troughs were arranged on a different system from those the Corry Hatchery used, being in three tiers.
The two commissioners went from Union City to Corry, where they inspected the hatchery and looked after a shipment of black bass that had already arrived from Illinois and would stock the Union City Hatchery. These bass were gathered from the Illinois River by the United States Bureau of Fisheries for the Pennsylvania Department and were being taken care of temporarily at the Corry Hatchery.
The Union City Hatchery grew and thrived. Less than a year later, on March 13, 1906, A.G. Buller informed the Union City Times that the lake trout were in the process of hatching at the Union City Fish Hatchery.
Mr. W.M. Hubbell drove Mr. Buller around to several places that were seemingly well adapted for a fish hatchery. After going over the ground carefully, Mr. Buller told a Union City Times reporter that he was favorably impressed with Union City as a suitable location for the hatchery. Girard, North East and Waterford all wanted the hatchery site and The Times urged Union City people to get a move on if they wanted the hatchery in their town.
If the hatchery was located in Union City, the borough would have to donate the 21 acres of land to the state. "Let the Business Men's Exchange take hold of the matter at once, "the Times urged. About a month later, in July 1905, the town fathers of Union City received a letter from Harrisburg. The letter indicated that the new fish hatchery probably would be located in Union City if the borough would comply with state requirements. The committee appointed to help bring the hatchery to Union City has about closed negotiations for 35acres of land for a site for the hatchery and has raised almost enough money to pay for it. The Union City Times said, "There is no doubt but what the hatchery will be located here and work on the same commenced at once.
Two months from the time Mr. Hubbell drove A.G. Buller around to look at possible sites for the hatchery, Mr. Buller had an announcement to make. On Thursday, September 21, 1905,Mr. Buller welcomed Fish Commissioners Meehan and Whittaker of the State Fish Commission, and Mr. John Hamburger to Union City. The officials accepted the deeds for the land east of Union City recently purchased by popular subscriptions. The men said that work on the new fish hatchery which will cost$15,000 will start at once. The last state legislature authorized the establishment and location of the hatchery.
HATCHERY HAPPENINGS
1906
March 13, 1906
A.G. Buller, Superintendent, said that the lake trout are now in process of hatching at the Union City Fish Hatchery and that all visitors will be made welcome at any time.
April 10, 1906
A.G. Buller, Superintendent, reported that another large shipment of fish from the Union City Hatchery was sent to Erie Sataurday and deposited in Lake Erie.
April 17, 1906
Two more large shipments of lake trout were made from the Union City Hatchery to Erie last Friday and Saturday. There is still more to follow.
May 1, 1906
A.G. Buller, superintendent of the Union City Fish Hatchery, has been in Erie the past week assisting in the shipping of wall eyed pike and fry from the hatchery there to the suitable waters in various parts of the state. About sixty million have been sent out and many of them were placed in Lake Erie.
June 5, 1906
About four and one half million lake trout have been put into Lake Erie, Conneaut Lake, Lake Pleasant and samller lakes from the Union City Fish Hatchery this spring.
July 10, 1906
The Union City Fish Hatchery summer improvements are being pushed ahead steadily.
July 17, 1906
There is not a prettier nor more instructive place to go and spend a halfholiday or an entire day than the Union City Fish Hatchery east of town. Visitors are always welcome.
September 21, 1906
Superintendent A.G. Buller and his wife, Reverend and Mrs. C.H. Williamson of the Presbyterian Church, Dr. and Mrs. J.A. Hodgins, Mr. and Mrs. A.L. Caflisch, Mr. and Mrs. Fred Caflisch, Mrs. Ernest Caflisch , Charles Hubbell and Jay Smith all went to Lake Pleasant Tuesday. They fished for bass with which to stock the ponds at the local fish hatchery. They had a delightful day, but a small catch of fish.
October 8, 1906
Superintendent A.G. Buller of the Union City Fish Hatchery, just received a fine new American flag, eight by twelve feet. It will soon be floating from the pole on the hatchery grounds east of Union City.
October 22, 1906
Superintendent A.G. Buller of the Union City Fish Hatchery received another large consignment of black bass containing some fine specimens from the hatchery at Erie Saturday morning. They have been placed in the ponds at the hatchery and will be allowed to propagate sothat in the spring there will be a large number of young bass fry to plant in the streams and lakes of Pennsylvania.
October 29, 1906
A large consignment of black bass, rock bass and cat fish was received at the fish hatchery last Saturday.
December 6, 1906
The three upeer dams at the Union City fish hatchery were washed out by the heavy rain of last night. All of the fish contained in the upper ponds were lost, including more than one hundred two pound black bass.
A hole was washed in the dam at one of the ponds at the Union City Fish Hatchery. Superintendent A.W. Buller's pet black bass left school and gaily swam out into French Creek for a joyful holiday. They will probably be landed in Murray Peters' pond and will rest there. They will be brought back to their own fire side little worst for the trip. A few dollars will make good the damage to the hatchery.
December 6, 1906
Union City Fish Hatchery Superintendent A.G. Buller received a consignment of about 100,000 lake trout eggs from their boat which is still in commission on the lake. This is the first received at the hatchery this winter, but it is expected that at least 2,000,000 eggs will come along later from the government hatcheries.
December 10, 1906
State Fish Commissioner W.P Meehan has sent to A.G. Buller, Superintendent of the Union City Fish Hatchery, a number of blank applications for use in this section. Parties who want fish for lakes, steams, etc, can secure these applications by addressing Mr. Buller. They should apply at once so that their applications may be filed as soon as possible. The deliveries will be made in the early spring.
1907
January 14, 1907
A.G. Buller, Union City Fish Hatchery superintendent, arrived home from Northville, Michigan last Friday and brought two million and a half fish eggs of the lake trout variety from the hatchery. A.G. told the Union City Times that that was only the beginning of what will be received later.
March 25, 1907
Several cans of brook trout fry were received in Union City Saturday morning from the Corry fish hatchery and distributed in the streams east of Union City.
April 1, 1907
A consignment of 200,000 lake trout was shipped to Erie from the Union City hatchery last Friday and placed in the waters of Lake Erie.
May 22, 1907
State Fish Commissioner W.E. Meehan said that during the past few weeks a million and a half young trout have died of a strange epidemic at the Corry Hatchery. The matter is to be investigated.
Superintendent A.G. Buller of the Union City Fish Hatchery forwarded a large number of fish cans to Erie yesterday. The fish at Erie are hatching out so rapidly that they need a hundred cans daily to transport them.
Hanging Around the Union City Fish Hatchery
Muskellunge, trout, walleye, bass – all of these fish wait in French Creek for the whirr of the line and the skim of the fly across the water. Fish, French Creek, and the Union City Fish Hatchery belong together. Lyle Showers and his memories, A.G. Buller and his trout hijacking and Ray Young and his fingerlings and fry all combine to make 1890 and 1905 and 1992 interchangeable for fishermen and the Union City Fish Hatchery.
In his reminisces at the Union City Historical Museum, Lyle Showers recalled that in the mid 1890s, bass fishing improved dramatically in French Creek. A few years later, he discovered that a cousin of Perry Stranahan, who was connected with the U.S. fisheries, told Perry that he was travelling through Union City with a large shipment of large bass on the train when they began to die. The P& E conductor stopped the train on a bridge on the upper part of Clark’s Pond and dumped the entire shipment of fish into the pond. Before this happened, very few bass could be found in French Creek.
Lyle said that in the 1890s, brook trout were quite plentiful in upper French Creek and he saw fishermen catch several of them just above the Main Street Bridge in Union City.
Then, in June 1905, A.G. Buller came to Union City and fishing became less of a random cast and more of a planned fishing trip. A.G. Buller was from the State Fisheries Department and he came to Union City to locate a suitable site for a new fish hatchery. William Hubbell drove A.G. Buller to several likely places, taking care to point out how suitable they were for hatchery purposes. He had to convince A.G. that Union City was better than Girard, North East, and Waterford, who were competing with Union City for the hatchery.
William Hubbell was a convincing salesman. He sold A.G. Buller on the site and by the end of July 1905, Union City officials had received a letter from Harrisburg outlining the requirements that they had to meet. The borough donated the 35 acres that the Fish Commission needed and raised enough money to pay for them.
By September 22, 1905, Fish Commissioners Mr. Meehan and Andrew Whittaker of the State Fish commission and John Hamburger of Erie were visiting Union City as guests of A.G. Buller. They accepted the deeds for the land east of the city and authorized work to begin on the new fish hatchery which would cost about $15,000. Mr. Meehan and Mr. Whittaker said that they were well pleased with the location of the grounds and promised that this would be one of the best hatcheries in the state.
Ground was broken at once for the first of the hatchery buildings which would be 40 x 100 feet in dimension and the work was scheduled to be completed as soon as possible. The hatchery troughs were arranged on a different system from those the Corry Hatchery used, being in three tiers.
The two commissioners went from Union City to Corry, where they inspected the hatchery and looked after a shipment of black bass that had already arrived from Illinois and would stock the Union City Hatchery. These bass were gathered from the Illinois River by the United States Bureau of Fisheries for the Pennsylvania Department and were being taken care of temporarily at the Corry Hatchery.
The Union City Hatchery grew and thrived. Less than a year later, on March 13, 1906, A.G. Buller informed the Union City Times that the lake trout were in the process of hatching at the Union City Fish Hatchery.