No, it was not a fish hatchery, which many people thought...it was a chick hatchery. Located at 2719 Center Avenue, the Essexville Hatchery dates back to the 1930s. According to AgriStuff, “fertile poultry eggs are incubated, hatched into chicks, and prepared for delivery to farms or customers. It’s a critical link in the poultry supply chain, turning eggs from breeder flocks into healthy, ready-to-grow chicks.” Billed as "The One Stop Poultry Service Hatchery", the Essexville Hatchery closed sometime after the 1950s.