ESPN Outdoors has an online article on the Fish Car that has returned to the D.C. Booth Historic National Fish Hatchery in Spearfish. Yes, they once hauled fish by rail car. There were 10 fish cars in the U.S. and they were big attractions. One was prominently displayed at the Chicago World's Fair in 1893. Now we have a permanent Fish Car in South Dakota.

One wonders if the train's engineers were just a tad more cautious when they had a box car full of fish?

The old hatchery, established in 1896, still raises trout for stocking in Black Hills streams. However, the place is also a historic and cultural landmark in the mountains of South Dakota. If you haven't seen the hatchery, be sure to stop the next time you visit the northern Hills. The stone walls, historic buildings, hungry fish (even though they are fed six tons of food a year!), and the adjacent Spearfish Creek and its wildlife make it a very pleasant place to spend some hours. All this within walking distance of downtown Spearfish.