White River State Fishery Area

The White River State Fishery Area in Bayfield County, Wisconsin is just south of the Town of Delta. The river has a rich history dating back to the early 1900s. 

About the years of 1918-1919, Spring Lake was established as a Fish Hatchery by the State of Wisconsin. After Mrs. C.F. Wiehe’s husband died she sold the property to a Sportsmen’s Club. Later the club disbanded, and Spring Lake was acquired by Mr. Kaiser, a banker from Park Falls. A new club was formed, known as the Namagosh Club. Namagosh means “trout” in English.

The club changed ownership again and became the Delta Brook Trout Company, which was located on Spring Lake, which is now the South Fork of the White River. They created seven concrete dams were built in the river for a private fish hatchery, the purpose being to provide ponds for the rearing and holding of trout. The Delta Brook Trout Company furnished German brown, brook, and rainbow trout to exclusive Chicago hotels and clubs in the mid-1900’s. In addition, there were lodges, rental cabins, a motel, horse stable, hatchery building, a sawmill and even a small airstrip.

The property was sold several times over the 1990’s, eventually it was acquired by the Conservation Commission of Wisconsin in 1962. The Commission tore out the dam: now all that is left is a creek instead of the beautiful lakes that used to be there. After the Wisconsin DNR acquired the 1600 acre property in 1962, they removed the 23 buildings and the dams.

there is a wonderful historical book of the Delta, Wisconsin area titled “Growing Up in a Country Store: Memories and History of Delta and Ino, Wisconsin”, written by Pat Sykes Musil. Her book was published in 2006.