From the Archive: Lester River Fish Hatchery

The Lester River Fish hatchery—that old Victorian building at the mouth of the Lester River—has caught the eye of many a passerby over the years, but few  know its history. It was the brainchild of Dr. Robert Ormsby Sweeney, a true Minnesota pioneer and somewhat of an eccentric renaissance man who not only dreamed up the hatchery but designed the building himself—and some say the Minnesota state seal as well. Read our history of the fish hatchery, and the unique Dr. Ormsby, HERE.

The 1888 Lester Park Fish Hatchery, photographed in August, 2014. (Image: Zenith City)