Old Joe the Alligator
Died 1966 - Wakulla
Springs, Florida
Old Joe was an 11-foot-long alligator of undetermined
age (some said he was 300) who lived on a sand bar in Wakulla Springs. He never
bothered anybody -- not even the children and pets who swam around him. He was
much beloved by the locals until he was shot dead by a poacher in 1966.
The Fish and Wildlife Service stuffed Joe, then dragged him around the
state for years, an exhibit to be poked and prodded by sticky-fingered school
kids. Now Joe is back home, in dignified retirement in a glass case in the
lobby of the Wakulla Springs Hotel. "We just had him redone," the desk clerk
told us. "He looks real nice."
Every New Years Eve the Hotel puts a party hat on him.
Old Joe, Stuffed Alligator:Address: 550 Wakulla Park Dr., Crawfordville, FL [ Show Map] Directions: At the Wakulla Springs Lodge. Phone: 850-224-5950
...Previous
Grave | Next Grave...
| 
