Elyria Alligator Tales – Part 1

Did you know that the city of Elyria used to keep alligators in its fountain on the downtown square as community pets?

I didn’t either – until two of my longtime blog contributors Dennis Thompson and Rick Kurish both made me aware of it, unbeknownst to each other, in separate emails that suggested it as a topic for a post.

Just like yesterday’s post about kite flying, Rick saw the appearance of an alligator in the fountain as a harbinger of spring. As he eloquently put it, "Just as spring heralds the return of the swallows to San Juan Capistrano and the buzzards to Hinkley, a century ago spring meant the return of the alligators to the fountain in downtown Elyria. 

"As a youngster in the 1950s, I remember standing at the fountain in Elyria, which contained a few small denomination coins and some litter, while my grandmother told me that at one time the fountain was home to many fish, turtles, and a couple of alligators which a city employee would feed by placing meat on a long pole and extending toward the alligator. 

"It seemed hard to believe,” noted Rick.

Dennis found out about it from family as well "After dinner, I was showing old Lorain and Elyria photos to the kids when my son's wife asked, "Did you ever hear about the alligators in the fountain in the Elyria square? They stayed in the pond during the summer and were kept in the basement of city hall in winter.” 

"Thinking this must surely be an urban legend, I hit the Chronicle-Telegram archives,” said Dennis.  "To my delight, I found that not only were there several alligators, but they were a frequent subject of the paper."

Indeed they were. Between the clippings sent to me by Dennis and Rick, supplemented by ones I found, we can piece together the story pretty well.

Rick observed,"From newspaper accounts, it appears that the renovation of the fountain from a genteel Victorian floral garden to a home for alligators and other wildlife was the idea of a rather unusual councilman named Jude Jones, who was the proprietor of a tobacco store in Elyria. 

"When he was named park superintendent, he made many changes/upgrades to the park, including the fountain. Prior to becoming a councilman he maintained animal exhibits of turtles, fish, and apparently even a small alligator in his store window — much to the delight of children passing by.”

Rick found mentions of alligators in the fountain as early as 1908.

By 1909, “Mutt,” the alligator, was already a popular attraction in the fountain. This clipping from the Saturday, June 12, 1909 Chronicle-Telegram tells the story of Mutt’s first feeding since his hibernation, which began the previous October.

The same edition of the paper revealed that Mutt had a little buddy.

By 1911, it sounds like Elyria needed some new alligators. This article from the May 22, 1911 Chronicle-Telegram notes that a shipment was en route from Ocklawaha, Florida. 

By May 26, 1911, the new gators were enjoying life in their new home, according to this story from Chronicle-Telegram that day.

"Of course the next step was to name the alligators,” noted Rick, "so a contest was organized. Per the C-T article on May 27,1911, the decision was Mutt and Jeff." 

"The names of course were derived from the then wildly popular Mutt and Jeff comic strip, which had debuted a couple years earlier,” said Rick.

This story from the Saturday, June 10, 1911 Chronicle-Telegram clarifies the alligator situation. Sadly, one of the two gators from Florida had passed away, leaving a total of three living in the fountain – which included a tiny one that was only seven inches in length. Hilariously, the turtles in the fountain enjoyed piggyback rides on the gators.

“Mutt,” the biggest alligator, was apparently very smart, according to this article from the July 8, 1911 Chronicle-Telegram.

Only one alligator is mentioned in this story from the October 7, 1911 Chronicle-Telegram, in which the city was having trouble finding him a big enough tank to spend the winter in.

Next: More Alligator Tales