Jacksonville Property Management

Part of the land on which the Foxwood development sits was once an ape research facility called the Yerkes Laboratories of Primate Biology (1930–1965). Prior to the Yerkes facility opening in 1930, Yerkes was engaged in his own research with two great apes, aptly named “Chim” and “Panzee”. His findings convinced officials at Yale University, the Rockefeller Foundation and the Carnegie Foundation to sponsor the Orange Park facility. Initially designed to house about 25 chimpanzees, researchers worked with an estimated 65 chimps (and possibly more) during the lab’s 35-year history. This location was home to chimpanzees nurtured as humans such as Gua (Chimpanzee) and Viki and other primates from the estate of Madame Rosalia Abreu in Havana, Cuba. It was home to some of the leading behavioral scientists of the time, some of whom either liked or hated living in the humid South. These researchers studied various aspects of primate behavior, including basic biology, sensory function, reproductive systems, behavioral patterns, physiology and anatomy. Comically, rumors about the place by Orange Park residents included those of scientists cross-breeding humans with apes. Yet, the term “Monkey Farm” was (and still is) the popular name given to the Yerkes Labs by Orange Park residents.