History of the site

" For the Old McKenzie Fish Hatchery, the historic period of significance is correctly drawn from 1907, the date of earliest site development (the pond qualifies as a development of that date) to 1945, the latest development. The present hatchery is the third hatchery building on the site. It replaced a building of 1928, which burned in 1944. The original hatchery was built 1907. The McKenzie River site was selected for its proximity to a natural spawning area for Royal Chinook salmon, where the spawn, or eggs, could be collected, and where a fall of fresh water streams could feed ponds for breeding, irrigate the hatchery and grounds, and fill the holding ponds for fingerlings. Some of the fingerlings of the Old McKenzie Fish Hatchery were returned to the McKenzie River, but most were released to restock other streams and lakes in Oregon. The facility began its operation in 1907 as a salmon cultivation facility. In 1912, it commenced to cultivate both salmon and trout. From 1921 onward, when it came under auspices of the Oregon Game Commission, the hatchery supplied trout fingerlings primarily for sport fishing."

From the application for listing on the National Registry of Historic Places