Alligator Farm in Lincoln Park

In 1907, Francis Earnest and partner "Alligator" Joe Campbell opened the California Alligator Farm at Mission Road and Lincoln Park Avenue in Lincoln Park. For 25 cents, visitors could view alligators ranging in size from a few inches to 13 feet. The alligators were segregated by size because the larger ones would eat smaller ones. According to the promotional literature, some of the oldest alligators were a few hundred years old. By 1909, after buying out his partner, Earnest added South American iguanas and two-foot chuckwalla lizards to the collection. The farm became a popular target for fraternity pranksters who would get caught attempting to steal an alligator. There were also a number of escapes by the reptiles, aided by seasonal flooding, as many ended up in local canals or swimming in nearby Lincoln Park Lake.

One of the more famous alligators was Billy. Most of the menacing alligator jaws seen in movies between the 1910s and 1940s belonged to Billy. He reliably opened his jaws for the camera whenever meat was dangled over him.

In 1953, after almost five decades, neighbors of the farm were finally spared the alligator bellowing during the night and constant alligator escapes to their backyards and pools. Ken Earnest, grandson of Francis, moved the farm to Buena Park. The Buena Park farm finally closed during the 1980s.