ENID, Okla. - When I was a kid one of the coolest activities to do in Enid was to visit the zoo! Yes, Enid had a zoo. The most memorable part of the entire complex was the big monkey pit stuck right in the middle.
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Just about anyone that ever spent time watching the monkeys will tell you about the smell. It wasn't the most refreshing aroma to be found but as a kid it meant you got to throw peanuts at the monkeys.
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The pit was a concrete circle with a few big toys for the monkeys to play on. There was a wooden western wagon and a spinning ladder that they would climb on. There was a handrail around the pit that we would stand on and lean over as far as we could.
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I don't really remember much about the other animals but there was also a bear and a lion. If you have any details or photos of the Enid zoo please send them to buzz@enidbuzz.com.
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Enid Zoo History
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The Enid Municipal Zoo was located on east Garriott and 4th St., near Government Springs Park. The Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center is now located in that spot. The name on the gate was Springs Park Zoo.
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The zoo was started in the early 1950's and was closed around 1972. Regulations and cost were the major factors in its closing. Many people think there was a ship in the monkey pit when in fact it was an old horse drawn wagon. The sunken ship was at the monkey pit in the Lincoln Park Zoo in OKC.
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Color Video from the Enid Zoo:
Thanks to Ken Freed for sending us the video. This is from Ken:
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"When I was just a "children", my Uncle Gene, Aunt Dorothy, and Cousins from El Reno came up to Enid and we all went to the zoo. My Uncle always had a video camera with him. Here is a short clip of my Cousins, older Sister Marcia Cowley, and older brother Phil on a trip to the Enid Zoo. No sound, but some good coverage of the monkey pit. Thanks to my Cousin Jimmy Martin for figuring out how to transfer the old movie films to digital. Also in video are Cousins Rick Martin & Billy Martin (the one that my Aunt Dorothy didn't want to fall in the monkey pit)."
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The monkey pit in 1972.
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The color photos below are from the WW Evans collection of Enid photographs.
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The Enid monkey pit had an old wooden wagon in it.
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Everyone remembers the SMELL!
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Inside the monkey pit.
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Lion cage in the background. Photo courtesy Lindy Chambers.
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Another shot of the monkeys.
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The zoo entrance in the 1960's. Thanks to Joe Flaming for sharing.
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I don’t remember the Enid Zoo, but I’ve heard about it all my life. You see, on a cold and cloudy day, January 15, 1962 in fact, a young woman, great with child, was standing at the monkey pit waiting for her doctor appointment concerning her long awaited child. While standing there, she went into labor. (This part of the story is true… 🙂
Her father thought it was a great opportunity to craft a story of how his first grandchild came into the world. It went something like this:
“So there we were, standing by the monkey pit at the Enid Zoo, when I took the bubble gum I’d been chewing and stuck it real good to this string. Then, I lowered the string into the monkey pit, and by golly, one of those little monkeys reached up and grabbed that string! She hung on tight, stuck to the bubble gum, as I reeled her up. She was the cutest little monkey that you ever did see! So we brought her home and named her Lura Jean.”
Thanks for sharing the pictures. It’s delightful to put some fact with the fictional tale I learned before I could speak.
LOL! Thanks for the great story!
I remember the zoo close to the time it was going down. 1968 and 69. Thought Enid was such a big city with a zoo in it. lol I grew up around farms so what did I know. Thank you so much for bring these memories to the top Buzz
Thanks for checking in!
Wanted to ask about the pic of the 2 ladies in front of the lion cage….Any way to find out if anyone knows who they are? The lady on the right looks exactly like my Grandmother. Thank You
Hey Kristy, Lindy Chambers sent the photo. She said it was Lindy’s Grandma Potts and Grandma Hutchins.
Thank you Mr Buzz for the info…We all have a twin somewhere, guess my Grandmas went to the Enid zoo.
The zoo was so cool! I lived on the east side of town growing up, and at night when the wind blew from the south, we could hear the lions roar. My grandma and grandpa would come from moorland and they would take my sister and I to the zoo, then we would stop at pac- a- sac and get like 10 for a dollar burgers. I’m soon to be 61, and growing up in Enid has been my pleasure. I do love this town.
Thanks for the story!
The bear pit and train were at the OKC Zoo.
Gotta wonder how the kiddos survived the go cart ride – no helmets, no roll cage, no safety harnesses. ????????
’62 – ’63 we lived in the Cherokee Terrace Apartments, and hearing the lions roar was one of our fondest memories! One evening, just after dark, we were going home from the tennis courts and got “Buzzed” by an escaped owl that had gotten out of the zoo. Seems that the female lion at that time was named Tara – correct me if my memory fails me!
When I was a kid my 4 sisters and brother were there every day.An airman donated a spider monkey ,he would eat and wooudnt play ,just sat in the corner. The zookeepers name was Dan Davis and he ask us if we wanted the spider monkey,we said YES.Well he called our mother and ask her she said SURE WHY NOT .we named him Oliver . We had many fun times with him,as he got older he sure got cranky. He bit my youngest daughtera coulpe years before he passed away from old age about 1976 or 1977, The stories my family could tell about living with a real live monkey
Oliver bit my husband on the finger in 1975. We lived on east maple. We were sitting in out living room with the front door open when we see this blonde-headed guy walking a monkey on a leash. We went outside and he stopped and was talking to us. I remember he told us this was the spider money from the Enid zoo and his,name was oliver. About that time he hopped on my husbands leg, ran up to his shoulder, down his arm and bit him on the finger. They finished their walk and we went in the house to wash the little nip eith everything we had in the house!
one of the earliest zoo keepers was Enid High 1960 Grad Dee Lang. He is now deceased but I would love to hear his thoughts on those days. His father was the Fire Chief and Dee went on to become a fireman himself.
Yes I been trying to find a photo from Zeno News & Eagle Mrs Ball class took us to the zoo in May 1962 I’m very sure. At one I had a news cut out photo with
of my best friend Brad Brooks, me JeffreyEldon Hutton kids at school called me Jeff, plus Mrs Ball was in their passing out pennies at the zoo’s wishing well.
If the news paper or you know where to find this photo please let me know, I’ll be glad to pay for this photo.
My wife and I visited the monkey pit nearly every Sunday afternoon when we were dating in 1953, 54 and 55. We would stop by a grocery store and buy a bunch of carrots and cut them in small chunks to toss them … this was before bagged carrots with the long green tops removed. Thanks for the memories.
Hey we lived in Enid from 1959 to 1966. The zoo keeper was a personal friend of ours. His name was Lee Ford. Tall good looking guy. We took our kids to the Indian Springs park. Lee told about one day he saw a man standing near the Springs, he was an older American Indian man. He just stood there one hour then going on two hours. It was very moving Lee said as he must have remembered earlier years or stories told to him by a long ago generation of his people. Enid stayed in our memories these 60 years and we look back in fondness of our good times then. Buzz feed thanks for giving us this chance to remember!
My brother & I walked to the zoo almost every day. We loved the zoo! Then we went to the park & walked over the top of waterfall… the rocks were slippery & I slipped down the waterfall. I had a nice strip of road rash down my leg.
Off topic…does anyone remember Miss Pond? She was my 5th grade teacher. She had a beaver coat that she would hang it on the coat rack on the back of the door. She loved that coat!
Thanks for the memories!