The Dark History Behind Kalamazoo’s Old Milham Park Zoo

John Ball Zoo (JBZ) officially opened the season last weekend. To me, this has always been the biggest indicator that winter is indeed over, and fun seasonal activities like going to the beach and going hiking are just around the corner.

Get our free mobile app

West Michigan has two major zoos, Binder Park Zoo in Battle Creek and John Ball Zoo in Grand Rapids, which was named Revue's Best of the West 2024 winner for best Large Scale Attraction. However, there used to be another zoo in West Michigan but it has since been forgotten to time, possibly for the dark reason the zoo closed down. Let's take a look back at the Milham Park Zoo. 

Milham Park

Milham Park is a 49-acre park located in Portage that was purchased in 1910 by the City of Kalamazoo and offers a variety of trails, playgrounds, and picnic areas. It is named after the farmer who owned the land before it was purchased, John Milham.

READ MORE: This Looney Tunes Cartoon Might Have a Michigan Connection

There are contradicting accounts of when the park officially opened, with one account stating it opened in 1911, while another says it didn't open until after 1918. Over the years, the park has been a campground, a zoo, an ice rink, and a swimming pool.

Milham Park Zoo Early Years

According to the Kalamazoo Public Library, the zoo was in its infancy stages in 1926 when two buffalo, peacocks, foxes, owls, swans, monkeys, raccoons, rabbits, and, most importantly, black bears were allowed onto the property. It also became a bird sanctuary. Ten years later, the park added reptiles to its repertoire, and the zoo was a hit for many years. You can view a photo of the three bears here.

A Dark End

However, the years weren't kind to the zoo. As the number of animals there slowly diminished, it began to face vandalism and animal abuse issues. Visitors developed a nasty habit of throwing things at the animals.

Peacocks were stoned to death, and by the mid-1970s, people threw lit cigarettes, rocks, glass bottles, and more into the bear enclosure. The bears would reportedly slice their paws on the glass until, in 1977, the final bear was put to sleep, marking a depressing end to the zoo that was once a staple of the park.

The park is still an important part of the Kalamazoo area, but any wildlife found there is just that, and it should be respected. You can view more zoos around Michigan from the early 1900s below.