"Once known as the world’s largest dinosaur theme park, Dinosaur World opened in 1967. The town of Beaver, Arkansas saw a jump in tourism as visitors stopped to see hundreds of prehistoric sculptures while on their way to Beaver Lake or Eureka Springs. The park was originally named Farwell’s Dinosaur Park in its early years and was later sold and re-named John Agar’s Land of Kong after King Kong actor John Agar gave a friend permission to promote the park in his name in the late 1970s,"the Only In Your State says.

"Dinosaur World featured the world’s largest Noah’s Ark Mural as well as 65 acres of sculptured dinosaurs and cavemen. After Agar’s King Kong was released in 1976, a 40-foot tall statue of the legendary movie monster was built and exhibited as the “World’s Largest King Kong.” The park officially closed in 2005 and over the past decades has become popular with explorers who enjoy touring abandoned theme parks.

"In addition to being popular with explorers, Dinosaur World has also received attention from Hollywood. The park’s dinosaurs are shown in the opening credits of 1969’s It’s Alive, and the 2005 film Elizabethtown released a DVD cover showing the park."

""Kong was originally supposed to have moving arms that beat his chest, all while clutching Fay Wray, of course. The final product had the red blinking eyes, using 'Psycho Lights' purchased at Radio Shack. The jaw moved up and down as well, but I heard that feature broke soon after completion," the Roadside America says.



"Aside from its name shift, Dinosaur World didn't change much after the mid-1980s, a bulwark of primeval consistency in a hellbent-for-leather world. It was still the largest dinosaur park in the world. The Kong Burger in the snack bar still delivered a full pound of meat on a bun.

"Unfortunately, by 2005 the park had ceased operation, with the entrance building locked and the phone calls left unanswered."

"Dinosaur World, earlier known as John Agar's Land of Kong and Farwell's Dinosaur Park, was a tourist attraction in Beaver, Arkansas. It was a theme park covering 65 acres (260,000 m2), 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 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 40 feet (12 m) tall statue of King Kong, known as the "World's Largest King Kong", being built for it. The owner, a friend of film actor John Agar, received permission from Agar, who had appeared in the 1976 version of King Kong, 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 and Wall Drug in South Dakota, and the Christ of the Ozarks statue in nearby Eureka Springs, Arkansas. Two local men, A. C. McBride and Orvis Parker handled the actual construction of the dinosaurs." (Wikipedia)

"Located in the entrance circle to an amazing individual's view of prehistory you'll find the World's Largest King Kong. While Dinosaur World was impressive ("World's Largest"), too, the Four Story King Kong was what I was there to see...

"Not far from Eureka Springs, the World's Largest King Kong holds a screaming kicking woman - some unfortunate tourist that did not follow the park rules? According to the brochure, he's four stories tall, but not mentioned again," the World's Largest Things says.

"The structures in the park are all concrete and fiberglass, in varying states of decomposition. Kong is holding up well, though, and I got an extra-added bonus of picking up the raw materials for the World's Smallest Version right there at the gift shop."

"With more than 65 acres, Dinosaur World was once the largest dinosaur park in the world. There were about 100 dinosaur statues along an approximately two-mile route that could be driven or walked. The park was the creation of Ola Farwell and known as "Farwell's Dinosaur Park" when it opened in 1962. The statues were built by Emmit A. Sullivan who also created the famous dinosaurs at the Dinosaur Park in Rapid City, SD. Leo Cate may have created some of that statues as well," the Roadside Architecture says.

"In the early 1980s, Ken Childs took over the park and it became "John Agar's Land of Kong". John Agar was an actor from 1950s science fiction movies and later appeared in the 1976 remake of "King Kong". Childs was a friend of Agar who let him use his name in association with the park.

"Kong" referred to the 42-foot-tall fiberglass King Kong that was built when Childs took over the property. Unfortunately, the place has been closed since 2005. In 2011, the gift shop building was destroyed in a fire but the statues were unaffected."

"In Beaver, Ark. dinosaurs still roam the land. They’re actually the remnants of an abandoned park called Dinosaur World, which was one of the world’s largest prehistoric-themed parks. Dinosaur World opened in the 1960s and closed in 2005 after a fire destroyed its main building," the Weather Channel reports..

"“It’s deep in the middle of the lush Ozark Mountains of Northwestern Arkansas with a big beautiful creek running through the middle,” said Dax Ward an urban explorer. Though the 65-acre park is hidden from most visitors, mother nature has overrun the area with native life. Some of the dinosaurs are surrounded by shrubs and vines, but others remain untouched.

"Despite its closing, Ward said that the site was well maintained. “The landscape is generally well kept, with the grass appearing to have been cut.”

"That’s when a 40 ft. tall statue of King Kong, known as the “World’s Largest King Kong,” was built. The owner, a friend of film actor John Agar, received permission from John Agar to use his name in the name of the park. John Agar had appeared in the 1976 version of King Kong. Many articles report that John Agar was either the owner or part owner, but he was never either one.”

"Emmet Sullivan designed all of the dinosaurs in this Arkansas dinosaur park as well as the statues in the famous Wall Drug in South Dakota and the Christ of the Ozarks statue in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. Mr. Sullivan was an apprentice to one of the sculptors of the Mount Rushmore monument," the All About Arkansas reports.

"Today, Dinosaur World looks like an abandoned Jurassic Park in Arkansas. It is on private property and no longer open to the public. These 65 acres of beautiful Ozark Mountain land have been returned to nature and the giant dinosaurs are fading into the landscape."

"The largest King Kong statue in the world lives in Beaver, Arkansas at an abandoned tourist attraction once known as Farwell’s Dinosaur Park. How a four-story gorilla ended up living in a dinosaur park is a strange (but interesting) story," the

Then There Was Arkansas says.

"The park was the dream of a man named Ola Farwell, and in its day, Farwell’s was the largest dinosaur park in the world (yes, there were others). The 65-acre tourist attraction opened in 1967, and visitors could marvel at a two-mile make-believe prehistoric world, inhabited by a hundred cement statues of dinosaurs and cavemen. The sculptures were created by Emmit A. Sullivan, who later went on to fame as the builder of another gigantic Arkansas landmark--the Christ of the Ozarks. The dinosaurs were featured in a few scenes of the 1968 horror film, “It’s Alive!”

"Tragically, the great ape no longer stands upright. The world’s largest dinosaur park closed in 2005, and the world’s largest King Kong is now lying in overgrown grass, surrounded by abandoned dinosaurs."

"King Kong is the Big Movie Gorilla who climbed New York City’s Empire State Building way back in his first film, which came out in 1933. Six more movies have featured this member of the World’s Biggest Movie Monsters, but is he really a monster? Most fans will tell you that King Kong was just misunderstood — he was taken from his home on Skull Island (wasn’t that a monkeynapping?) and he only wanted to protect actress Ann Darrow," the VroomVroomVroom.com says.

"As you travel around the great state of Arkansas in your rental car or RV, you should definitely take a road trip to the tiny town of Beaver. In Beaver, Arkansas, you can find the Beaver Store Inn, and the waterfront Beaver RV and Camping Park.

"The park’s Big Cement Dinosaurs are sculptures created by artist Emmit A. Sullivan, while the Big Building-Climber himself, King Kong, was fabricated and installed by Bert Holster in the mid-1980’s. Park owner Ken Childs had Holster include red blinking eyes and a moving jaw, although that feature broke soon after it began operation. The theme park’s gift shop sold baseball caps printed with the slogan, “The Biggest Monkey on Earth!”

"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 Eureka Springs, the small town has been featured in movies for its picturesque scenery. The town is known for the Beaver Bridge, a two-panel suspension bridge over the White River listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

"Several miles to the south from the town of Beaver was Dinosaur World, a theme park covering 65 acres (26 ha), which had 100 life-size sculptures of dinosaurs and cavemen. It also featured a 40-foot-tall (12 m) statue of King Kong known as the "World's Largest King Kong". The park has been closed since 2005 and is not open to the public.

"Dinosaur World featured the world’s largest Noah’s Ark Mural as well as 65 acres of sculptured dinosaurs and cavemen. After Agar’s King Kong was released in 1976, a 40-foot tall statue of the legendary movie monster was built and exhibited as the “World’s Largest King Kong.” (Wikipedia)