Port Orange in Volusia County, Florida — The American South (South Atlantic)

Bongoland

Photographed by AGS Media, August 13, 2010

1. Bongoland Marker

Inscription. Several attempts were made to operate Dunlawton Plantation as a tourist attraction in the the 1950's Dr. Perry Sperber leased the premises from J. Saxon Lloyd for a park to display prehistoric monsters and had a number of replicas, molded in concrete on wire frames constructed. The park was called "Bongoland" in honor of a large baboon housed on the grounds an Indian village was also reproduced and a small train carried visitors around. But the day of the theme parks had not yet come and Bongoland was closed for lack of public interest. Identification of the animals that roamed the world millions of years ago has been furnished by the Volusia Anthropological Society.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Animals • Entertainment • Industry & Commerce • Paleontology.

Location. 29° 8.511′ N, 81° 0.431′ W. Marker is in Port Orange, Florida, in Volusia County. It can be reached from Old Sugar Mill Road, on the left when traveling east. The marker is on the grounds of the Dunlawton Sugar Mill Botanical Gardens, on Old Sugar Mill Road just east of where the road forks to the north off Herbert Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 950 Old Sugar Mill Road, Port Orange FL 32129, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Florida’s First Coast.

It is also in the American South.

Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

a Gulf of Mexico state,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other

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markers are within walking distance of this marker: Historic Sugar Cane Machinery (within shouting distance of this marker); Florida Hammock Trail (within shouting distance of this marker); Destruction of Dunlawton Plantation (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Emathla (King Philip) (about 400 feet away); Spanish Mills and Bongoland (about 400 feet away); Dunlawton's Building Blocks (about 500 feet away); Living on the Edge (about 500 feet away); Sugar Making (about 500 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Port Orange.

Another marker is no longer nearby. Confederate Oak (was about 400 feet away but has been permanently removed).

Regarding Bongoland. "Bongoland" was built amidst the ruins of the old Dunlawton Sugar Plantation, which saw its massive sugar mill destroyed during the Second Seminole War. Today, the site is home to the Sugar Mill Botanical Gardens. Several of Bongoland's concrete replica "prehistoric monsters" still exist and can be seen throughout the Gardens.

Additional keywords. Sugar Mill Botanical Gardens

Photographed by AGS Media, August 13, 2010

2. Bongoland Marker

Watch out for the stegasaurus.

The Triceratops from Bongoland image. Click for full size.

Photographed by AGS Media, August 13, 2010

3. The Triceratops from Bongoland

A plant eater, existing about 100 million years ago.

The Bongoland Dimetrodon image. Click for full size.

Photographed by AGS Media, August 13, 2010

4. The Bongoland Dimetrodon

A ferocious meat eater that lived 250 million years ago

Bongoland's Giant Ground Sloth image. Click for full size.

Photographed by AGS Media, August 13, 2010

5. Bongoland's Giant Ground Sloth

"A vegetarian mammal that lived 110 thousand years ago."
The complete fossil of one such beast was excavated nearby and is on display at the Museum of Arts and Sciences in Daytona Beach.

The Bongoland Tyranosaurus Rex image. Click for full size.

Photographed by AGS Media, August 14, 2010

6. The Bongoland Tyranosaurus Rex

A meat eater, existing about 100 million years ago.

Welcome to Dunlawton Sugar Mill Gardens image. Click for full size.

Photographed by AGS Media, August 13, 2010

7. Welcome to Dunlawton Sugar Mill Gardens

Once a sugar plantation, later "Bongoland", now a botanical park

Bongoland's Stegasaurus image. Click for full size.

Photographed by AGS Media, August 13, 2010

8. Bongoland's Stegasaurus

A plant eater, existing about 150 million years ago.
Prehistoric animals made by M.D. "Manny" Lawrence
Early 1950's

Credits. This page was last revised on July 22, 2018. It was originally submitted on August 25, 2010, by Glenn Sheffield of Tampa, Florida. This page has been viewed 2,455 times since then and 29 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. submitted on August 25, 2010, by Glenn Sheffield of Tampa, Florida. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.