Burt loved to fish at Little Deer Lake. Photograph by Grotus Reising, 1897.

COURTESY EDWARD BLANKMAN (THE LLOYD BLANKMAN COLLECTION)

Lloyd Blankman

When Burt Conklin finished paying for his place he secured an option to buy the remainder of the lot unsold which contained Little Deer Lake.

About a year later Finch eyed the lake and tried to buy it but couldn’t because of the option. He promised to buy the lot and sell Burt that portion of the lot north of the road for a stated price.

Burt signed over the option to Finch who immediately purchased the lot and built a dam below the lake.

Six months later Burt requested that papers be drawn for the north portion. Mr. Finch replied, “I have found the north portion is worth more than I thought and I have decided to keep it.” Thus the Finch-Conklin feud was begun, and it carried on for years.

Never a week went by that countless large trout weren’t taken from Little Deer Lake. To counter this loss Finch built a barbed wire fence about eight feet high with wire drawn tight only four inches apart. It extended all around the Lake property south of the road with the gates padlocked.

He also bought the largest dog he could find. In fact he didn’t have good luck keeping them so he purchased several. Some of them turned out to be gentle and cowardly and never bothered anyone.

Later on Finch tried to protect the pond with a shotgun loaded with birdshot. Burt Conklin carried one in his back until he died. Then one time the keeper found the fence cut one morning. Every strand of wire from top to bottom was cut in around forty or fifty places. No one ever learned who did it but Burt owned a long-handled bolt cutter.



Finch owned the acid factory in Northwood and five fish ponds. He once lost a valuable boat from one of the ponds. It was later discovered on the Twin Lake reservoir. Thus the feud ended.