The village is one of the last purely Creole settlements in Belize, and many traditional practises are still carried out, such as cooking over the "fyah haat" (fire hearth).

[3] The village was incorporated as a town in 1891 at which time it had a population of some 2500 people, mostly engaged in the lumber and banana industry.

[1] On October 9, 2001, Hurricane Iris made landfall at Monkey River Town as a 145 mph Category Four storm.

The area's formerly large population of black howler monkeys was similarly greatly reduced, but has come back strongly and several troupes are to be seen along the river, a popular eco-tourist attraction.

Researchers from the University of Calgary led by Dr. Mary Pavelka study the monkey population year-round.