Records indicate that workers enlarged and improved the pond during the construction of the East Annex in 1949. This enlargement was done in part to make room for the addition of a monument honoring the veterans of the Spanish American War. Today, “The Hiker” statue, the centerpiece of that monument, presides over the Trout Pond.
The California Department of Fish and Game has historically stocked the pond each spring with Rainbow Trout. The fish are fed a special formula food, which the department developed for fish raised in captivity. The Department of Fish and Game release the fish each fall so that they may complete their lifecycle. Rainbow Trout are related to the California Golden Trout, which the Legislature has designated as the official state fish of California. The golden trout is native to California, originally found only in a few icy streams of the headwaters of the Kern River.
