Arkansas Alligator Farm and Petting Zoo facts for kids
Alligator farm circa 1902
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| Date opened | 1902 |
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| Location | Hot Springs, Arkansas, United States |
| Coordinates | 34°30′54″N 93°04′24″W / 34.51500°N 93.07333°W |
| No. of animals | <400 |
| No. of species | <20 |
The Arkansas Alligator Farm and Petting Zoo is a fun place to visit in Hot Springs, Arkansas. It's a privately owned zoo located on Whittington Avenue.
This farm has been home to alligators since it opened in 1902. It also has a small museum with interesting displays, including a strange "Merman" exhibit, like something you might see in a Ripley's Believe It or Not! museum. There's also a gift shop where you can find souvenirs.
In the main alligator area, you'll see a small headstone. It's a memorial for a pet fox terrier that sadly died there in 1906.
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History of the Alligator Farm
How it Started in 1902
H. L. Campbell started the farm in 1902. He thought Hot Springs needed another cool place for tourists to visit, besides the famous thermal baths.
Changes Over the Years
Before 1929, Campbell sold the farm to D. S. Older. Back then, it was called the "Hot Springs Gator Farm." It had as many as 1500 alligators and a small museum.
In 1945, Jack Bridges, Sr. and his wife bought the farm. They changed its name to the Arkansas Alligator Farm. The Bridges family added a gift shop and brought in more animals. These included monkeys, raccoons, and logger-head turtles.
Later, in 1965, Jack Bridges Jr. and his wife Sue took over the zoo. They added even more animals, created a petting zoo, and expanded the small museum.
Animals and Exhibits
Meet the Animals
Today, the zoo has about 200 alligators. But that's not all! You can also see other cool animals like cougars, turkeys, chickens, wild boars, turtles, bobcats, and even ring-tailed lemurs.
The Petting Zoo Fun
The farm also has a petting zoo. Here, you can get up close with friendly animals like goats, emus, llamas, white-tailed deer, and pigs. You can even see baby alligators! Visitors can feed many of these animals.
Alligator Feeding Show
Don't miss the alligator feeding show! It's not just exciting to watch the alligators eat. You'll also learn interesting facts about these amazing creatures.
How the Farm Grew as a Business
Early Days of the Farm
When the farm first opened, it had two main goals. One was to raise alligators for their hides. The other was to sell live alligators to other parks and zoos.
New Ways to Raise Alligators
The Arkansas Alligator Farm was one of the first places to use incubators. These special machines helped alligator eggs hatch into baby alligators. In the early days, visitors could even buy live baby alligators from the farm!
Baseball History at the Alligator Farm
Babe Ruth's Famous Home Run
In 1918, the Alligator Farm became part of a famous baseball story. It's right across from Whittington Park. This park was where the Pittsburgh Pirates used to train in the spring.
On St. Patrick's Day in 1918, Babe Ruth was playing for the Boston Red Sox. He hit an amazing home run that flew about 573 feet! The ball went over Whittington Avenue and landed in the second pond at the alligator farm. At that time, Ruth was known as a great pitcher. But this home run helped him become famous as a legendary hitter. There's a special marker at the Alligator Farm that tells this story.
Fogel Field's Legacy
Right next to the Alligator Farm's parking lot is a field that was once called Fogel Field. Today, it's used for extra parking.
Hot Springs built Fogel Field in 1912. It was a training site for Major League Baseball teams. The Philadelphia Phillies (in 1912) and the Pittsburgh Pirates (from 1921–1923 and in 1926) trained there.
Later, famous Negro leagues teams also used Fogel Field for spring training. These included the Kansas City Monarchs (1928), Homestead Grays (1930–1931), and Pittsburgh Crawfords (1932-1935).
Baseball Markers Outside the Farm
Outside the Alligator Farm, you can find markers that are part of the Hot Springs Historic Baseball Trail. These markers tell more about Babe Ruth and Fogel Field.
The Ruth marker says: The Fogel Field plaque says:
Media Features
The zoo has been shown on TV! It was featured on ABC News and on TV shows like Untamed and Uncut and Most Shocking.
The story of Babe Ruth's 573-foot home run and the Alligator Farm is also in a documentary called The First Boys of Spring (2015). This film talks about the important history of spring training baseball in Hot Springs. The documentary is narrated by actor Billy Bob Thornton. It started airing on the MLB Network in February 2016.
