Word to the wise! The monkey aren’t here! We went to the spot everyone says to go to and what’s showing on the trail map. But, they simply aren’t here.

I saw this place on TripAdvisor and I simply HAD to see what it was about. It’s tucked not far into the woods along the Forest Trail at the Autrey Mill Nature Center you’ll barely have to hike before you see it. Lots of people who pass don’t know the story behind it, or why they’re there at all, because there’s not a sign or tour explaining what they are. With a little research, though, I found that the story goes like this; at some point around the turn of the century, a circus train derailed in the nearby town of Duluth, and a group of circus monkeys made their escape into the woods. Not knowing what in the world they were, local farmers shot them all dead within a few days time. At some point in the 60s or 70s, an anonymous artist wanted to put a monument to the massacre in the woods where it happened, with the message of “Just because it’s new and foreign doesn’t mean you should fear it.” A must see for lovers of odd history, and as an added bonus, the surrounding nature center has a lot of fun things to do as well!

We read about the memorial on trip advisor and thought we’d check it out. It’s a great place to go if you have a couple of extra minutes. It definitely isn’t somewhere you’d spend a lot of time. Summer camp was going on, so we didn’t explore too much but we were able to find the memorial easily. It is on the Forest Trail to the left of the restrooms. You walk about 100 yards (past the teepee) and the statues are circling a tree along the trail. I wish there was a marker there that gave some information about the monkey massacre.

The memorial consists of several very small monkey statues in a park which in and of itself might not seem too impressive. But Google the story behind it and it's super interesting and heartbreaking. Supposedly years ago a circus train wrecked and dozens of monkeys ran into the forest. Local farmers had no idea what they were and shot them all. The memorial (which does not have this explanation accompanying the display) is in remembrance of that tragic event. The small display is not depressing for children - the little statues don't look sad. And this attraction is inside a lovely park that has short hiking trails through the trees, restrooms, and a small area with chickens/ducks. The memorial takes only a few minutes but it is easy to combine that and the park a fun family outing. Johns Creek is a suburban area north of Atlanta, close to Alpharetta.