Everglades Gatorland

City/Town: • South Bay

Location Class: • Commercial • Recreational

Built: • 1959 | Abandoned: • 1990s

Status: • Demolished

Photojournalist: • David Bulit

Table of Contents

U.S. Route 27

U.S. Route 27 begins in the heart of Miami’s Little Havana and exits the state at the quiet northern town of Havana near the Georgia line. It’s often overlooked today as just another rural highway winding through the state’s swamplands, old citrus groves, and forgotten main streets. In its heyday, US 27 was the backbone of the state’s burgeoning tourism economy. It was lined with quirky roadside attractions, motels, citrus stands, and oddities that offered visitors a taste of the exotic. Everglades Gatorland was one such attraction situated just within South Bay city limits.

Everglades Gatorland in South Bay, Fla.

Everglades Gatorland began in 1959 when J. C. Bowen, the former mayor of South Bay, and his wife, Mary Lou, decided to expand their gas station after noticing that tourists frequently inquired about where to see alligators and other native Florida animals. The first animals were alligators caught from the lake just behind the building, and it wasn’t long before they expanded to include exotic animals such as Brahman bulls, bobcats, coatis, and a king vulture. The owners also held over 75 eastern diamondback rattlesnakes in a pit behind the gift shop, feeding them baby chicks at night to not upset the tourists.

A postcard from the 1960s, which shows how Everglades Gatorland looks in it's heyday. — A postcard from the 1960s shows how Everglades Gatorland looked in its heyday.

Out of Control Poaching

Alligator hunting became profitable in the mid-1880s and continued until the 1960s. By the 1960s, due to licensed trappers and wholesale poaching, the alligator population was threatened with extinction. In 1961, Florida prohibited alligator hunting, but poaching continued to take its toll. One study at the time said that just 200 alligators were alive in the massive Lake Okeechobee.

In September 1965, poachers carried off three alligators from their pen at Everglades Gatorland. According to expended cartridges found at the scene, Bowen said a .22 caliber rifle was used when the night watchman was off duty. This incident occurred six months after the three alligators were brought there to replace six other alligators lost to poachers.

Then, on the morning of November 11, 1965, poachers hit another roadside attraction, Owen Godwin’s Gatorland in Orlando, known today simply as Gatorland. Forty-six alligators and two crocodiles were killed before the thief was scared off, leaving behind the slaughtered reptiles and an old pair of rubber boots.

rc02126 — Alligators have been hunted throughout the 19th and 20th centuries for food, their skin, for sport, and out of fear. Many steamship companies that operated in the 1800s advertised the opportunity to shoot alligators from their boats. 1874. *State Library and Archives in Florida*

The Endangered Species Act

The passing of the Endangered Species Preservation Act of 1966 saw the first federal endangered species list. A few notable species listed in 1967 were the Florida panther, American alligator, Florida manatee, and bald eagle. The act was later expanded upon with the Endangered Species Conservation Act of 1969. With funding from Congress, 2,300 acres of land were also purchased for the nation’s first habitat for endangered species—the National Key Deer Refuge on Big Pine Key.

Florida became the nation’s first state to implement its captive wildlife regulations. These new standards mandated minimum enclosure sizes for various species and specific sanitation and animal care requirements. As a result, many smaller roadside zoos were forced to shut down after failing to comply. However, Everglades Gatorland met the new criteria and could remain in operation.

With the passing of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, further conservation efforts and strict hunting regulations led to a rebound in the alligator population. By 1987, the species was reclassified from endangered to threatened. Unlike the gators, however, this old Florida roadside tourist stop would never experience a similar revival.

A postcard from the 1960s featuring the gas pumps at the old attraction — A postcard from the 1960s featuring the gas pumps at the old Everglades Gatorland. The back of the card reads, “Located on US Highway 27 offers you FREE ADMISSION to see live alligators and many other wild animals that inhabit the Everglades. Visit Florida’s most modern gift shop and Snack Bar, on the northeast corner of the Everglades.“

Gatorland’s Decline

Everglades Gatorland continued to operate and even thrive throughout the 1970s. However, by the late 1980s, alligators were no longer kept there, as the costs and efforts required to care for them had become financially unsustainable. In the previous decades, the construction and expansion of major interstate highways, such as I-95, I-75, and the Florida Turnpike, had steadily diverted much of the traffic away from the older routes.

As a result, the business declined over the following years, but the Bowens continued to sell souvenirs to the few tourists who passed through before ultimately closing the business. The situation was so dire that Bowen sold his Brahman to the first person who offered money for it.

For years, near the lake where alligators were captured and put on display, the concrete pens and cages that held the animals lay abandoned in the Florida sun. The old souvenir shop sat on the side of Highway 27, gutted and overgrown, with a faded sign still advertising “Live Alligators.” The building and structures were demolished in October 2020.