MUSCATINE, Iowa – The new education pavilion at the historic Fairport Fish Hatchery was dedicated Wednesday, Oct. 23, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony by the Friends of Fairport Fish Hatchery and the Greater Muscatine Chamber of Commerce & Industry.
The pavilion project, which cost about $147,000, serves as the capstone on the interpretive trail system at the 60-acre hatchery. The education building is located at the Fairport Fish Hatchery, which is at 3390 Iowa Highway 22, about eight miles from downtown Muscatine.
The pavilion houses informational panels, a history timeline of the hatchery, and artifact display cases. Design of the pavilion pays homage to the 1910 Pump House that was demolished in 2021. The new pavilion incorporates sandstone blocks salvaged from the pump house into its window arches and bullseye windows over the doors.
The project brings to light the untold history of the facility on the banks of the Mississippi River. It is the joint work of Friends of Fairport Fish Hatchery and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.
“I know I speak for everyone when I say how delighted we are to dedicate this beautiful new Education Pavilion,” said Sandy Stevens, president of Friends of Fairport Fish Hatchery. “This building brings to fruition the vision our group had to not only share the rich, 100-year history of the Fairport Hatchery, but also to provide future educational opportunities supporting freshwater mussel research, advocacy for clean water and protection of our natural resources, and to promote eco-tourism in Muscatine.”
In 1908, by an act of U.S. Congress, the United States Federal Biological Station at Fairport was established to research freshwater mussels and fish in their Mississippi River habitat. In October 2023, the Fairport Fish Hatchery Historic District was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
The Interpretive Trail System at the Fairport Fish Hatchery, which opened in April 2023, is now complete with the construction of this new education pavilion.
The Interpretive Trail System features a North Trail along archaeological ruins of five cottages where researchers lived while working at the Station. The South Trail showcases hatchery operations as they are today along with archaeological ruins and information about the original buildings at the Station.
Throughout the trails visitors will find 19 interpretive signs designed to tell the story of this important conservation and commerce research center. Many of the trail signs incorporate a QR Code that allows visitors to access online videos to dig deeper into the details of the stories at this historic site. The trails and pavilion are open year-round during daylight hours.
The Interpretive Trails System including the new Education Pavilion was made possible through a coalition of generous corporate and individual donors, hundreds of community volunteers, as well as major grants from the REAP Conservation Education Program, Roy J. Carver Charitable Trust, Muscatine County Impact Grant, Historical Resource Development Program, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, and the National Scenic Byway Foundation.
Over the past four years, Friends of the Fairport Fish Hatchery raised over $147,000 for the project. This total includes $93,623.75 from nine grants; $40,916 from 60 private donors; and $12,875 from 13 corporate donors.
Friends of Fairport Fish Hatchery was established in November 2020 with the mission to preserve historic resources at the Fairport Fish Hatchery, support its historical and scientific research, and educate students and the public about conservation efforts (both past and present) to protect mussels and fish from impacts due to pollution, siltation, and overfishing.
For more information, visit Friends of Fairport Fish Hatchery online at www.fairportfishhatchery.com.
