Dinosaur World, earlier known as John Agar's Land of Kong and Farwell's Dinosaur Park, was a tourist attraction in

Beaver, Arkansas Beaver is a town in Carroll County, Arkansas, United States. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 67. The community is located on the White River at the western limits of Table Rock Lake deep in the Ozark Mountains. Located north of Eure ...

. It was a theme park covering , which contained a hundred life-size sculptures of dinosaurs, cavemen, and other prehistoric creatures as well as the world's largest Noah's Ark Mural painted by local artist Will Johnson. The park closed in 2005. At one time it was the largest dinosaur park in the world. The park was started in 1967 when Ola Farwell hired

Emmet Sullivan Emmet Sullivan, (May 27, 1887 – November 3, 1970) was an American sculptor. He was born in Powder River (Wyoming and Montana), Powder River, Montana, and claimed to have worked on Mount Rushmore. He created the five dinosaurs in Dinosaur Pa ...

to build between six and ten life-size replicas of dinosaurs, and the park opened as "Farwell's Dinosaur Park". In the late 1970s the park was sold to Ken Childs and became "John Agar's Land of Kong", with a tall statue of

King Kong King Kong is a fictional giant monster resembling a gorilla, who has appeared in various media since 1933. He has been dubbed The Eighth Wonder of the World, a phrase commonly used within the franchise. His first appearance was in the novelizat ...

, known as the "World's Largest King Kong", being built for it. The owner, a friend of film actor

John Agar John George Agar Jr. (January 31, 1921 – April 7, 2002) was an American film and television actor. He is best known for starring alongside John Wayne in the films ''Sands of Iwo Jima'', '' Fort Apache'', and ''She Wore a Yellow Ribbon''. In hi ...

, received permission from Agar, who had appeared in the 1976 version of ''

'', to use his name in the name of the park. Many articles report that John Agar was either the owner or part owner, but he was never either one. Sculptor Emmet Sullivan also designed the dinosaur statues in

Dinosaur Park Dinosaur Park is a tourist attraction in Rapid City, South Dakota, United States. Dedicated on May 22, 1936, it contains seven dinosaur sculptures on a hill overlooking the city, created to capitalize on the tourists coming to the Black Hills to s ...

and

Wall Drug Wall Drug Store, often called simply Wall Drug, is a roadside attraction and tourist stop located in the town of Wall, South Dakota, adjacent to Badlands National Park. Wall Drug consists of a collection of cowboy-themed stores, including a drug ...

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...

, and the

Christ of the Ozarks ''Christ of the Ozarks'' statue is a monumental sculpture of Jesus located near Eureka Springs Eureka Springs is a city in Carroll County, Arkansas, United States, and one of two county seats for the county. It is located in the Ozark Mount ...

statue in nearby

Eureka Springs, Arkansas Eureka Springs is a city in Carroll County, Arkansas, United States, and one of two county seats for the county. It is located in the Ozark Mountains of northwest Arkansas, near the border with Missouri. As of the 2020 census, the city populati ...

. Two local men, A. C. McBride and Orvis Parker handled the actual construction of the dinosaurs. Along with the nearby Beaver Dam, a few of the park's dinosaurs are featured briefly during the opening scenes of the 1969 horror movie '' 'It's Alive!'''. The tyrannosaurus is featured in the 2005 film '' Elizabethtown'' and is shown on the film's cover.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Roadside America
2005 disestablishments in Arkansas Buildings and structures in Carroll County, Arkansas Dinosaur sculptures Outdoor sculptures in Arkansas Roadside attractions in Arkansas Defunct amusement parks in the United States 1967 establishments in Arkansas

See also

References

External links