I heard so many stories for a long time that I thought it might be an urban legend. After much research, I finally tracked down the truth. Some neighbors called it an “Exotic Zoo”. Some locals who had never visited spread rumors that tigers and other wild beasts were caged there. Others said there was a witch that lived in the woods with all the beasts, and no one should enter the woods. Well, here’s the true story.
The Dayton Daily News, in a 1963 article, called it a “Private Kingdom and Private World” and wrote if the Eagle Family ever moved, it would take a second Noah’s Ark to move everything.
Branching off from the busy Pinnacle Road was a twisting private drive that ended with a house, a field and woods that was the private zoo and haven to over 150 animals including a burro, six raccoons (one of which was a rare albino raccoon named Pinky), four foxes, a peacock, geese, 30 goats, chickens, cats, crows, pigeons, doves, white rats, turkeys, over 2,000 white mice and that’s not all. Pheasants, dogs, a deer, a mad squirrel, rabbits, honey bear, porcupine, chinchilla, guinea pigs, a skunk, cavies, badger, groundhog, and visitor favorites – Jerry the conti mundi; Robert, Molly, Mickey & Sammy the four rhesus monkeys; Jerry the Mynah bird and Lemmy the cacomistle.
This menagerie of critters was owned by Harold & Helen Eagle. Harold worked for over 45 years for the National Cash Register Company and Mr. Eagle spent most of his retirement money on providing over 50 trays of food per day to feed the animals. To help supplement the animal feeding, every day Harold would pick up donations of stale bread and baked goods, and in addition, he also sold rats to colleges and white mice to hospitals for experiments.
Neighbors, visitors, and school children sometimes by the bus load would stop by the farm zoo to see the animals. Very popular in 1963-1964 was a mother goat named Shelly who gave birth to quintuplets, five baby goats, which was a very rare occurrence. City of Moraine employee Barry Webb remembers, as a six-year-old, accompanying his grandfather Major Webb, who owned Webb’s Market in Miami Shores, and delivering groceries to Mrs. Eagle. Mrs. Eagle was very reclusive, had long fingernails and always wore a robe. Perhaps this is where the “witch” rumor came from. Barry said that Mrs. Eagle didn’t speak much but was very nice. Barry fondly remembers the peacock and petting the monkeys.
In the 1960’s, articles on the Eagle’s farm zoo appeared frequently in the Dayton newspapers. The Eagle’s farm and zoo were located at 3725 Pinnacle Road. The farm’s location was where Pinnacle Park Tot Lot on Charlotte Mill Drive is today long before Heather Hills subdivision was built. Mr. Eagle died in 1964 at age 72 and Mrs. Eagle died in 1966 at age 77. Where all the animals went after Mrs. Eagle died no one knows but the memories of their private zoo, their love for animals, and the folklore lives on.
That was a nostalgic look back at the Eagle Family’s “Noah’s Ark”.
