Johnny J. Jones

A native of Arnot, Tioga County, Pennsylvania, Jones was the son of Welsh immigrants, working alongside his father in the local coal mines from the age of ten.

DuBois, Pennsylvania historian Major Israel McCreight recalled: “After the arrival of the 1 o'clock train Johnny J. Jones could be heard yelling at the top of his voice, "Pittsburgh Gazette; all about the big fire.

[4] Jones entered the carnival business in 1895 with his purchase of a cane rack booth at a local fairground and opened his first small traveling fair in 1899.

For years, the side of his train cars and his show wagons were lettered : "From the Capital of the World, DuBois, Pennsylvania" [10] In 1929, Jones made national press again when he paid $2,000 to fly a female gorilla into the United States from France.

Susie was featured in the Johnny J. Jones Exposition, the Miller Brothers 101 Ranch and the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus before permanently relocating to the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden in 1931.

His family continued the show without him, Hody Hurd Jones managing the Exposition until 1950,[13] with the help (aside from a military stint in World War II of the couple's son.