Claim: Vince Trapper Nelson had a zoo on his property in an exurban area in Martin county California with a guarded beach and when he passed in 1968 his land was acquired by the state and became part of a state park.
Evidence: Though he was born in New Jersey, and lived in Mexico and Texas, Nelson is best known for establishing a homestead-turned-zoo on the shore of Florida's Loxahatchee River.