Space Farms Zoo and Museum is a
roadside zoo and historical museum located at 218
Route 519, in the
Beemerville section of
Wantage Township in
Sussex County,
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
, in the United States. It is currently owned by
New Jersey Assemblyman Parker Space
Parker Space (born December 4, 1968) is an American Republican Party politician, and owner of Space Farms Zoo and Museum. Space has served in the New Jersey General Assembly since March 2013, where he represents the 24th Legislative Distric ...
.
Founded in 1927, the zoo is home to a wide selection of
mammals and
reptiles, including some
endangered species. At one time, Space Farms was host to the largest bear in captivity in the world, a
Kodiak bear
The Kodiak bear (''Ursus arctos middendorffi''), also known as the Kodiak brown bear, sometimes the Alaskan brown bear, inhabits the islands of the Kodiak Archipelago in southwest Alaska. It is the largest recognized subspecies or population ...
named Goliath, part of a taxidermy exhibit in the main hall of the museum as of his death in 1991. His large skull is upstairs, where it can be compared to skulls of other animals.
The Space Farms museum houses
antique vehicles and items used during the early history of the United States, such as horse-drawn
carriages and early
motorcycles
A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...
.
[Krebs, Michelle]
"Driving Back in Time: Auto Exhibits in the Mid-Atlantic States"
''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'', August 20, 2006. Accessed October 11, 2007. The vehicles are largely unrestored. There are also colonial period tools and weapons on display.
Notes
Further reading
* Day, Lori S. ''The Zookeeper's Daughter'' PublishAmerica, 2004.
* Day, Lori S. ''Zoo Momma'' Daylite Sales, 2016
* Space, Fred. ''Ralph Space the Legend, The Story of Space Farms and Tales of Beemerville'' Privately Published, 2007.
External links
*
The Space Farms Museum Collection of Southwest Virginia Artifacts by Jim Glanville
{{authority control
1927 establishments in New Jersey
Zoos in New Jersey
Natural history museums in New Jersey
Transportation museums in New Jersey
Museums in Sussex County, New Jersey
Wantage Township, New Jersey