Jacksonville History

Northeast Florida was originally inhabited by Timucuan Indians who lived along the main rivers and waterways. The Spanish came into the area in 1513, led by Juan Ponce de Leon. In 1564, the French built Fort Caroline in what is now Jacksonville, establishing the first Protestant colony in America. They lost their foothold in Florida to the Spanish, who conquered the French and built a settlement in nearby St. Augustine in 1565, 55 years before the Mayflower landed in Plymouth, Massachusetts. In 1821, at a narrow point on the St. Johns River to ease crossing the river, the town of Jacksonville was established. It was so named after General Andrew Jackson. By the time Florida achieved statehood in 1845, Jacksonville was an important port in the cotton and timber trades.

During the mid-to-late 19th century, Jacksonville was known as the "winter city in summerland" and became a haven for those seeking refuge from the bitter northern winter. A telephone jingled in Jacksonville for the first time on Jan. 18, 1878. The first automobile in town was a 5-horse, steam-powered Locomobile also emerged during this time.

Now known as the great fire of Jacksonville, a raging fire in 1901 destroyed 2,368 buildings. The fire was started by a spark from a chimney in a downtown home.

In the early 1900s, Jacksonville became known as Hollywood East. Over 300 movies were filmed at studios in Jacksonville during this time. The first ever Technicolor film, The Gulf Between, was filmed in Jacksonville in 1917. Grown to six studios by 1914, the movie business was discouraged by the religious community on grounds that actors were wearing too much makeup and kissing too long on camera. The studios soon departed Jacksonville and took up permanent roots in California.

Although slowed somewhat by the depression, Jacksonville rebounded during World War II with the building of military installations. In 1968, the city and county governments were joined to create the geographically largest city in the contiguous 48 states with 840 square miles of land. Incidentally, Jacksonville also holds the title as the westernmost city on the east coast of the United States. Because Jacksonville is further west than coastal points to the north and south, it is Florida's least hurricane-prone coastal city.

During the late 1960s, modern skyscrapers and additional bridges spanning the St. Johns river were constructed to make way for major development south of the river.

For the next 25 years, Jacksonville's river and its ocean port again served as the lifeblood of the area, attracting many new residents, businesses and visitors. The city quietly evolved into a major business center of the South. In 1993, following a successful franchise in the defunct USFL (United States Football League), the National Football League awarded a franchise to Jacksonville. Thus, the Jacksonville Jaguars were born and quickly became the most successful franchise in its first 5 years of existence.

Today, Jacksonville is an exciting vibrant city that maximizes its natural attributes of abundant land and beautiful public beaches. Jacksonville is host of the annual Gator Bowl college championship football game and also hosts the Florida-Georgia game at Alltel stadium. Jacksonville has also been chosen to host Superbowl 39 and now has major cruise lines departing daily for cruises from the newly constructed terminal. Jacksonville residents have a median age of 34 years which makes it the youngest major city in Florida. In its January 2002 issue, Expansion Management magazine ranked Jacksonville as the #1 Hottest City in America for business relocation. Jacksonville has ranked in the top ten for four straight years and is the only city to be ranked #1 twice.

Northeast Florida is home to over 68 golf courses, Northeast Florida is a golfers paradise with nearly 1,300 holes of golf to challenge players of all skill levels. The region's courses are designed by the world's best including Dye, Fazio, Nicklaus, Palmer, Ross and Weed and host world renowned tournaments such as the Tournament Players Championship (TPC) at Sawgrass. The city of Jacksonville operates the largest urban park system in the United States, providing services at more than 350 locations located on more than 6,000 acres. Why live anywhere else?