Nebraskaland

58 Nebraskaland • November 2021 Fort Robinson ExcepƟ onal Horses and Fine Fish istorians often tell of Fort Robinson's period of producing the trusty steeds of the cavalry as a remount depot for the U.S. Army in 1919-1945. The fort's role in rearing aquatic species that bolstered the region's fi shing heritage during that era gets less attention. During the 20th century, Crawford and Fort Robinson became an integral location for producing the fi sh that found their way to dinner tables of the Midwest and High Plains. Most of the ponds that visitors enjoy today were created to serve aquaculture as Crawford was part of the U.S. government's federal fi sheries program for more than half a century. They stand as a reminder that the Crawford city park was home to a fi rst-class fi sh hatchery from the late 1920s until a devastating fl ood in 1991. Hatching a Hatchery As the U.S. government was looking to remedy depleted fi sheries resources across the nation in the late 19th century, it developed the National Fish Hatchery System. The Crawford operation was established as a substation of the Spearfi sh hatchery in South Dakota's Black Hills, which had been operating since 1896. The U.S. Department of Defense issued a permit to the Department of Commerce in December 1927 for the construction of fi sh nursery ponds on Fort Robinson property. The request to do so had come in the form of a two-page letter from none other than Herbert Hoover, who was U.S. secretary of commerce at the time and would become the nation's 31st president two years later. Henry O'Malley, U.S. commissioner of fi sheries, wrote in his 1928 annual report that construction had begun on "a new combination trout and pond station" at Crawford as a subsidiary to the Spearfi sh hatchery. Much of the early construction was on the main hatchery grounds at the city park, including buildings, ponds and a water line from springs at Fort Robinson. By 1933, Crawford had grown to become a stand-alone operation. From 1933 to 1935, the hatchery capitalized on the ready labor of the Civilian Conservation Corps, which had established a "drought relief company" camp at Fort Robinson as part of President Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal to provide employment opportunities during the Great Depression. Just as it had done throughout the nation, the corps, known as the CCC, left a lasting impression in the Panhandle through its many projects. Among them were construction of cabins at Chadron State Park and the lighthouse-styled observation tower at Lake Minatare. The largest of the projects at Fort Robinson was for irrigation — what we now know as Carter P. Johnson Reservoir. A CCC newsletter from May 1935 tells that the 470-foot "Noel Dam" on Soldier Creek was nearing completion. Surely, the workers would have enjoyed having equipment that would be used for the lake's upcoming renovation, as constructing the dam and excavating the reservoir with Fresno scrapers proved challenging that winter. "At fi rst the work was all pick and shovel until the fl ow pipe was laid," the newsletter's author stated. "Then four mule teams with Fresnos were H By Justin Haag Soldiers tend to yearling horses at Fort Robinson in 1932. Henry O'Malley led the United States Bureau of Fisheries from 1922 to 1933, the period in which the Crawford hatchery was created.

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