Arkansas Alligator Farm and Petting Zoo
Hot Springs’ oldest family owned tourist attraction
The Arkansas Alligator Farm and Petting Zoo is Hot Springs’ oldest family owned tourist attraction, having been in existence since 1902 and in the Bridges family for 70 years. Only the world-famous thermal springs that give the city its name is older.
The farm is located at 847 Whittington Ave. and was founded in 1902 by H.L. Campbell and sold to Donny S. Older between the years 19021929. It was known as the Hot Springs “Gator” Farm.
The gator farm was started because of the need for some type of tourist attraction due to the great influx of people who came to take the hot thermal baths, and there were no attractions other than the natural resources in Hot Springs. The reasoning behind the origination of the gator farm was due to the fact that alligators are native and are found in South Arkansas around Hope and Texarkana in the area known as Grassy Lake.
In 1947, the farm was sold to Mr. and Mrs. Jack Bridges Sr. with the addition of other animals and a gift shop.
In 1965, Jack Bridges Jr. and his wife Sue purchased the farm, and the name became the Arkansas Alligator Farm and Petting Zoo Inc. The “farm” is currently owned and operated by the third generation: manager Jamie Bridges, along with help from Joe and Jerry Bridges and sister Susan Fratesi.
The family continues to operate the attraction with many added attractions such as a petting zoo with emu, sheep, pygmy goats and miniature donkeys. Feed is also furnished for guests to feed the animals in the petting zoo. The farm is also home to raccoons, three types of primates, an Arctic and timber wolf, Arkansas mountain lion, wild ducks, peacocks and turkeys.
The popular attraction is home to more than
130 alligators of all sizes, from babies that are suitable for kids to pet (with staff supervision) to big
10-foot creatures with the oldest one being over
60 years old. Bridges keeps the gators segregated in several ponds according to age and size.
The brothers feed the alligators from May 1 to the end of October. The shows are Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays at noon. Customers can also purchase tickets and feed the gators meat on a stick.
The Alligator Farm is open seven days a week from March 1 to Nov. 1. It is open weekends, Friday through Sunday, during the winter and the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.
“We also have a small museum with different artifacts, including Indian artifacts and the world-famous Merman, which has been featured in Ripley’s Believe It or Not,” Bridges explained. “It is very likely that your great grandparents visited the farm. It is truly one of the oldest show places in Hot Springs.”