Guess What This Is

What in the world can this be?

I'll give you some hints:

• I took the photograph myself in 1974.
• The subject smelled really bad.
• I wasn't in any danger but I almost lost my camera.

Monkey Island Postcard

I found this old post card of the Jackson Zoo Monkey Island. It says "58" but it looks older than 1958 to me. If I had to guess I'd say this was probably from the '40's. "58" is probably the catalog number for this particular postcard.

It shows the island as seen from the alligator pond with the ramada (like a band stand, not the hotel) in the background. Where you see a stretch of trees is now the elephant exhibit.

This was probably a black-and-white photograph that was tinted in the printing process to make it appear color. That's why it looks sort of like a cartoon.

The little houses still existed when I was involved with the friends of the Zoo back in the 80's and 90's. They weren't on the island anymore though, and were only brought out during Christmas at the Zoo.

It seemed like they were wood covered with porters cement. As I recall, they were from the original zoo at the Jackson Fire Department before they moved to Livingston Park.

The whole island was originally covered in concrete to make it easier to clean up the monkey poo. I think they dug it up so grass and what-not would grow, but it may have just washed away through the years.

I don't remember the tree. It was gone before I got to zoo going age. I believe the little bridge may still be there under all the brush that's grown up.

Model Of Jackson

Once upon a time, there was a small-scale model of downtown Jackson.

I remember it was displayed in the foyer of the auditorium for years when I was a kid. I'm sure there was a plaque or something on it saying who made it and why but I've long forgotten such details.

It was a huge thing, maybe eight feet long by four feet wide and included pretty much all of downtown.

Does anybody remember this? Does it still exist somewhere?

Monkey Island Jackson Zoo

Many Mississippians fondly remember the Monkey Island Castle at the Jackson Zoo. Monkey island was in a pond between the alligator and duck pond exhibits. Near the center of the zoo, Monkey Island featured a small-scale fantasy castle inhabited by a troupe of live monkeys. It was quite a spectacle with monkeys climbing all over the castle structure.

As best as I can tell, Monkey Island was constructed sometime before WWII as a part of a WPA project that included many structures at the Zoo and Livingston Park. I believe Hubert Carmichael was director at the time. Like many of the older zoo structures, Monkey Island was made from sandstone quarried near Raymond, MS.

For a long time there was a rumor the zoo shut down Monkey Island because someone with tuberculosis spit into the water and infected all the monkeys. This isn't true. The Zoo moved the monkeys off Monkey Island sometime before 1980 because it was no longer safe to enter the inside of the castle where the monkey's night-time cages were held. Originally, zoo keepers entered the castle from a hidden entrance in the duck pond, through a tunnel that opened inside the castle. When the exhibit was no longer suitable for holding monkeys, the zoo started exhibiting pink flamingos there since entrance to the castle wasn't necessary.

Many people don't realize the clever way the zoo used water. Near Capitol street there was a well, which happened to be the highest point of elevation in the zoo. From the well, water flowed to the old sea lion exhibit, then to the alligator exhibit, monkey island and finally to the duck ponds where waste water exited the zoo into the sewers.

Monkey Island was one of my favorite memories from childhood. So much has changed over the years that I'd like to build a scale model of Monkey Island as it originally appeared.

If you have any information or especially photographs of Monkey Island, please contact me at: aboydcampbell@gmail.com

Visit the Jackson Zoo Website: http://www.jacksonzoo.org/