Presque Isle State Park is a natural wonder. Its paddler-friendly lagoons are engineered

A headline in an Erie newspaper in 1909 proclaimed the "World's largest fish hatchery to be located on Presque Isle."

It started in 1908 when a group of citizens interested in improving the area's fisheries convinced Congress Presque Isle might one day become the world's largest natural fish hatchery. At the time, Presque Isle was owned and still under the jurisdiction of the federal government. After nearly a year of working on the idea, Congress approved a bill turning over a large part of the peninsula to the Pennsylvania Department of Fisheries. The bill funded and authorized the starting of what was visualized as the most significant fish hatchery in the world.

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The federal government gave 1,200 acres of land and ponds on Presque Isle to the Pennsylvania Department of Fisheries. This area was located east of the Waterworks Park property and ended adjacent to the west side of the Sidewalk Trail from Misery Bay to the Presque Isle Light Station on the lake. At the time, this area contained seven large ponds that were at one-time spawning grounds for game and forage fish. One of the ponds, Big Pond, had a channel into Presque Isle Bay. This small and problem inlet was closed by sand and gravel nearly 60% of the time. Plans were to close this part-time entrance as a portion of the new project.

Starting in 1910, and for three more years, $20,000 was appropriated to dredge, purchase equipment, machinery and boats for the project. This new hatchery's goal was to improve and expand the population of perch, bass, pike, whitefish, muskellunge and herring. The operation was to center on these fish because these species could not be readily hatched by artificial means and needed natural breeding waters to multiply.

Early in the spring of 1910, a huge dredge began work in Misery Bay at the mouth of what now is the Graveyard Pond inlet. At first, the need was to deepen the area of Misery Bay. Once completed, the dredge began widening and deepening the actual channel into the small, narrow, and long-existing pond. However, the dredge had to make a sharp right turn as it entered Graveyard Pond. So, the entry pond was enlarged to allow it to move into this turn. It was nearly a straight run to where it would cut through into the next pond. Graveyard pond was deepened and widened to between 75 to 90 feet.

Graveyard Pond's length was about 2,500 feet. It stopped when the dredge reached the point where it should have turned left toward the next basin, called Raccoon Pond. It was decided that the dredge should add nearly 250 feet to the length of the pond. This later would become the home of the Presque Isle Canoe & Boat Livery. Once this work was completed, it began to cut its first connection to the six other ponds by dredging a 50- foot-wide channel into Raccoon Pond. It took quite a long time, but all seven ponds were eventually connected and became a single body of water of 300 acres and nearly two miles in length. This body of water is now our Presque Isle lagoons and still runs right through the Presque Isle forest.

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As the work went on, massive amounts of sand, gravel and junk were piled up along the shores of the new lagoons. As work progressed, crews worked ahead of the dredge to clear the path of trees and bushes. Once the piles were dry, crews landscaped the new shorelines by planting native vegetation. However, more critical use of this material was to fill in the substantial number of little ponds and low and swampy areas close to the new waterway. This was done to reduce the alarming number of mosquitoes in the summer heat.

The plans for the hatchery included screening between the various ponds to keep some of the multiple species separated. In the drawings were eight wooden docks and 20 small wooden boats to service the new lagoons. But suddenly, attorneys got involved. A severe legal problem developed with how funds were being spent which stopped the job completely. After eight months, the lawsuit was settled. However, no additional funding was ever approved. After that, wrap-up work was completed. No more field work was ever done, and the project died a slow death.

However, the actual result was that this project did establish a natural spawning area, bird sanctuary and recreational fishing area on Presque Isle. Today, we have an excellent addition to Presque Isle and a great asset to northwestern Pennsylvania.

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See you on the park!

Gene Ware is the author of 10 books. He serves on the board of the Presque Isle Light Station and is past chairman of the boards of the Tom Ridge Center Foundation and the Presque Isle Partnership. Email him at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Presque Isle State Park is a natural wonder. Its lagoons? Engineered