Strange But True – Minnesota’s Queen City Once Had Monkey Island

My dad was reminiscing about the old days growing up on the Iron Range recently when he mentioned going to see the monkeys at the park when he was little. I figured he was having a senior moment and got his words mixed up, because I had never heard of monkeys at the park. He insisted, so I looked it up and my gosh, he's right. There once was a monkey island in our town.

Olcott Park, Virginia, Minnesota

For a brief period of time, Virginia, Minnesota, had a Monkey Island in the middle of its huge Olcott Park. The park was constructed in 1910 in the "Queen City Of The Range." The large park also had a greenhouse with the only botanical garden north of the Twin Cities, which was added in the 1920s.

Park Included A Zoo With a Popular Monkey Island Attraction

It seems strange now, but a hundred years ago, it was common for cities to include zoos in their municipal parks. The City of Virginia's page about Olcott park shares more about what kind of animals were at the zoo. They sometimes would include escaped circus animals and abandoned pets. Who knew that there were so many escaped circus animals around?

Read More: Exotic Animals That Are Legal To Own In Wisconsin

The zoo also had moose, wolves, coyotes, badgers, exotic game birds, and monkeys. The monkeys were so popular that they had a special building and attraction built for them.

Monkey Island Was Closed In the 1960s

As you can imagine, it wasn't easy to maintain a zoo. Plus, the public had increased expectations of how animals should be treated and cared for. The final straw was when vandals killed several monkeys. (Psychos!) The park superintendent decided to close Monkey Island in 1964.