Page 15 - QuakerMillDam

Recreation at the dam during the early 2000s. Left: swimmers
climbing through the fish ladder. Right: fishing below the dam. Both
images courtesy of Doug Hawker.

Hot Days and Fresh Fish—Recreation at the Dam

Fishing, Hunting, and as far upstream as the Quaker Mill Dam. A fish survey of
33
Trapping the Quaker Mill Pond in 1973 revealed that some largemouth
bass, white crappies, and catfish were in the pond, as well as
many carp and suckers. 34
The Maquoketa River around the Quaker Mill Dam and the
pond to the north long served as a recreational area. Along In addition to stocking the river with game fish, the state
with swimming, boating, and picnicking, outdoor enthusiasts fish and game commission also occasionally rid the river of
at Quaker Mill have enjoyed fishing, hunting, and trapping. undesirable fish. During the Great Depression, a crew from
The area’s reputation grew during the twentieth century, es- the state fish and game commission seined the river between
pecially after local entrepreneurs began developing the area the Quaker Mill Dam and the dam in Manchester for undesir-
around the pond as a pleasure resort in the 1930s. able fish. The 800 pounds of carp, quillbacks and sunfish
that were collected were given to those on poor relief. The
35
The excellence of the Maquoketa River for fishing was main- river was also occasionally lowered to remove “soft fish” or
tained by the regular stocking of the river both above and “rough fish,” undesirable fish that interfere with breeding of
below the dam. This was done irregularly before the 1930s, game fish. 36
and with increasing frequency from the 1930s to at least the
1970s. In some cases, the fish were provided by a govern- Duck hunting was also a popular pastime at the mill pond.
ment fishery such as the one in Guttenberg. In other cas- The Manchester area is part of the Mississippi Flyway, the
es, the Maquoketa River was stocked with rescued fish that most heavily used corridor in the United States for migra-
had been trapped in ponds formed in other river channels tory waterfowl, so duck hunting here has traditionally been
when drought conditions lowered their water levels. During good. At one point around the 1960s, there were six or
37
the middle decades of the twentieth century, the river near eight large floating duck blinds in the pond, each owned by
the Quaker Mill Dam was stocked at various times with many a different family. Each blind could fit up to six people side
types of fish, including largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, by side. In 1958, Manchester teenager Calvin Robinson, who
red-eye black bass, rock bass, bluegills, black crappies, cat- bagged five “king sized” blue geese at the pond, explained
fish, walleyes, and northern pike. In 1940, seven-year-old his success by saying “they kept flying over.” 38
31
John Scheel of Manchester caught a walleye in his first at-
tempt at fishing. The newspaper at the time observed that The area around the dam has also been beneficial for trap-
the walleye was “a most unusual species of fish for this sec- pers. Willard Hawker recalls that when he was a boy in the
tion.” Willard Hawker, the present owner of the Quaker Mill 1940s, he trapped muskrats and occasionally mink around
32
Dam, recalls that one species of bass, the striped bass, was the dam. He got two to three dollars each for the muskrats,
common in the river below Manchester, but never appeared and a dollar an inch for the minks. 39

The Prettiest Dam on the Maquoketa River—The Quaker Mill Dam at Manchester, Iowa 13