Meeting report: 19th Century North America trout propagation
 

Two local trout clubs joined forces last night to host a talk by Dr. Robert
Behnke, renowned ichthyologist and author of the encyclopedic "Trout and
Salmon of North America", a cold water fisheries enthusiast's Audubon guide
if there ever was one.

Professor Behnke was last in Cleveland in 1998. At that time, he was very
interested in seeing the site of the first artificial propagation of fish in
North America, which he assumed would be recognized by a plaque or memorial.
He was surprised to find that no one in the area even knew where the site
was! In the intervening years, he conducted quite a bit of historical
research on the matter, and published a summary of that research in the
Spring 2003 issue of "Trout", the official magazine of Trout Unlimited.

In that article, he tells the story of Dr. Garlick, an early Cleveland
resident, physician, artist, inventor, and general busybody, who, upon
reading of artificial fish propagation in Europe, gave it a go for himself.
He set up a series of spring fed ponds on the farm of his friend Dr. Ackley,
where, in 1854, he successfully harvested eggs and milt from brook trout and
propagated the resulting fish, thus establishing the first fish hatchery in
North America. Dr. Behnke delighted us last evening with the details of
this story.

To add to the story, the president of the Trout Club of Cleveland spent the
day yesterday with Professor Behnke at the Cuyahoga County Archives, where,
with much research, they were able to track down the location of Ackley's
farm. The farm was located near what is now known as Slavic Village, near
the intersection of Broadway and East 55th street. Looking at the parcel of
land today in its gritty urban setting, one would hardly suspect that it was
once the home to a fertile brook trout habitat! In honor of the 150th
anniversary of the first successful artificial fish propagation, our clubs
hope to create both a landmark at the site and a display, probably at the
Cleveland Museum of Natural History, in honor of Dr. Garlick's
accomplishments.

After his talk, Professor Behnke told me that he plans to publish these
further findings in a future issue of "Trout". It was an interesting
evening!

Bill