Magog Fish Hatchery (1880-1943)

par Maurice Langlois

At the time of the Amerindians, especially the Abenakis in the EasternTownships, trapping, hunting and fishing provided most of the nutritional needs of the inhabitants. With the arrival of the White man, poaching became systematic and practiced on a wide scale. As early as 1850, a decrease in the population of fish was observed. Fishing was done with nets and seines and it was not unusual for one person alone to catch as many as 200 trouts of 1-4 pounds in weight in a day’s fishing. One would also catch salmon trout, muskelunge (lunge), sturgeon, eels in large quantities and others species.

Concern for an adequate supply of fish in our lakes and rivers was present more than 150 years ago. In 1858, in Sherbrooke and under the influence of Messrs A.T. Galt, E.D. Worthington, m.d. and E.T. Brooks, the Society for the Propagation and Protection of Fish in the Eastern Townships was founded. The objective was to create an awareness of the problem within the population and incite the Government to set rules and regulations governing these practices.

On 26 February 1879, an important meeting was held in Stanstead, chaired by Mr. E.T. Brooks, who then represented the county of Sherbrooke in the House of Commons. He reminded those present that the purpose of the meeting was to form a provincial association for the preservation of the fauna. He announced a grant of $ 2,,000.00 for the construction of a fish-breeding establishment. The following year, a fish hatchery was built in Magog, on the south bank of the river, a short distance above the present dam of the textile factory.

Ralph Merry V, had succeeded, after many years of hard labor, in bringing the railroad to Magog, at the end of 1877. He had left the office of mayor of the municipality in 1877, after seven years at the helm, and he was probably in search of another challenge. In 1879 he became involved in the promotion of the fish hatchery project, which will materialize the following year. During 1879-1880, on several occasions, he met with a Mr. Wilmot from Charlottetown, P.E.I., Superintendent of fish-breeding for the government. Finally, on 24 July 1880, Merry received a letter from Wilmot confirming that Magog had been designated as the site of the proposed fish hatchery. On 15 September 1880, Wilmot is again in Magog to receive tenders for the construction of the hatchery. The following day, the contract is granted to Alvin H. Moore, son-in-law of Mr. Merry. Construction begins without delay and is quickly completed in the fall of 1880. A.H. Moore seems to have been its first Superintendent.

The establishment, the first of its kind in Quebec, was built on the south bank of the river just above the present dam of the C.S. Brooks. The building had three stories : the first, was used for the fish-breeding operations. The second and third were occupied by the Superintendent and his family and contained office space. On top of the building, one could admire a magnificent fish-shaped weathercock.

In the fall of 1881, lunges were drawn with seines from the Cherry River, near the village. Ralph Merry writes that 200 were caught on 20 October 1881, but only one half of them were still alive in the morning. The 1888 edition of The Eastern Townships Directory and Gazetteer mentions that under R.M. Moore’s supervision (son of A.H. Moore) the establishment produces 1-5 millions salmon-trout and white-fish ova. These are deposited in various rivers and lakes throughout the Province of Quebec and other parts of Canada. In 1896, Mr. Harvey Cass is the superintendent, Horace Rice Merry in 1904 and 1905. Arthur Léonard Desève supervises the operations until his retirement in 1929. His successor, Mr. George Belknap, was the last superintendent and he served from 1929 until the establishment closed, in 1943.

In 1931, Mr. George Belknap who succeeded A. L. Desève is sent at the State fish hatchery in Hackettstown, N.J. to learn all about breeding bass. On his return, large out of doors basins are built and supplied with bass coming from Crystal lake, near Stanstead, where they abound. In 1939, on the occasion of the Royal Couple’s visit to Canada, Mr. Belknap is designated to supply the salmon-trout which is served at a banquet at the Château Frontenac in Quebec City.

Unfortunately and in spite of strong protests from the local population and its representatives, the fish hatchery is closed in 1942, apparently for economical reasons. Another reason raised is the « poor » quality of the water, claimed to be too cold in the winter and too warm in the summer. The operations are transferred to Baldwin Mills and the building is demolished in the spring-summer of 1943.

Remains of the foundations of the building and the exterior basins can still be observed from the bicycle path, just above the dam. One can also see the old metal ramp used by the employees of the mill who lived in the Hatley sector, to walk back and forth to work. Near the town’s launching ramp, a concrete block still bears the inscription of 1931, the year that the basins were added to the site.

Maurice Langlois
Magog Historical Society
Published in The Townships Outlet, April 2006

21 mai 2009

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