Richmond Hill, Georgia: Chico's Monkey Farm (Gone)

My family has lived in Richmond Hill for generations. Before I-95 came thru , Hwy 17 was the route to take and it was there where you would find all the motor-lodges, etc. Chico's closed in the 70's and was demolished after sitting for years.

Never, ever have I heard of a epidemic or anything like that, although one of the monkeys did get loose one time and ended up in my neighbors yard.

I'm trying to find out more about Chico's Monkey Farm. The description from this website sounds like a place that was just south of where I went to college. The tale goes that some terrible epidemic wiped out all the monkeys and the attraction was quarantined and closed, but was left intact and now overgrown with crazy vines and trees. Many students trekked out to this place to take photos and I've heard it is really creepy. I'd love to find out more and if the 'epidemic' was just a college myth.

Someone mentioned seeing Chico's Monkey Farm on a trip to FL. Sadly Chico's no longer exists. The business closed several years ago, probably in the late '70s or early '80s. The buildings themselves were leveled around 1996 or 1997 to make room for a subdivision. Chico's, by the way was not in FL, but on the west side of U. S. Highway 17 about 8 or 9 miles south of Richmond Hill, GA. Richmond Hill almost became home to another tourist attraction a few years ago when someone in the city government suggested combining the town's new sewage treatment plant with a theme park. As I recall the suggested name was to have been Waste Water World.

As a child driving with my family along the coastal highway [to Florida], I remember a place called Chico's Monkey Farm. There was a large statue at the entrance of a gorilla...it was a very cheesy place and quite enjoyable. There were signs along the highway for what seemed to be hundreds of miles, stating "x miles to Chico's Monkey Farm." This was in the early 70's -- I'm not sure if the place still exists.