The oldest continuous Zoo site in Texas, the Fort Worth Zoological Park has provided its visitors with many recreational and educational opportunities since 1909. The first Zoo in Fort Worth was a small menagerie then located in an old City Park and operated by the newly established Park Board. After a 1909 flood destroyed the animal collection, George Vinnedge, the city's first Park Superintendent, chose this site for a new Zoo. Over the years, the Zoo has experience a steady growth in facilities and additions to its collection, largely due to community support and concern. (1983)