Past Michigan Attraction: The Essexville Hatchery, 1930s-1960s

It’s another quirky Michigan Roadside attraction...unfortunately, it’s not around anymore...but here’s what it was, in a nutshell...

It was a hatchery in Essexville, located in Bay County. 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. So, when some people figured regular barns and chicken coops weren’t good enough, many chick hatcheries popped up.

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The purpose of a hatchery? 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.

Some sources claim the building was demolished – but it looks pretty similar to how it was from the 1930s on, just somewhat renovated. It was used in the 2020s as Syndicate Cycle and Excellent Alterations.