Fish Hatcheries have long been considered important to our country. Congress established the National Fish Hatchery system in 1872. The first hatchery was built on the McCloud River, in California. Today, the National Fish Hatchery system operates 66 hatcheries across the United States, and operates as part of the Department of Interior's Fish and Wildlife Service. The Warm Springs Fish Hatchery is a perfect example of local initiative.
History records that a federal distillery was located near here.
The women of the Bullock-Bussey family, which owned this land, objected to the distillery, and donated land for the purpose of a fish hatchery. The transaction took place on February 14, 1899. Today, we have 56 acres, with forty ponds for the fish hatchery. For some reason, the Federal Government in Washington decided that what Warm Springs, Georgia really needed was a bigger still. That meant, I suppose, that government policy was to subsidize drunks.