Jacksonville, Florida
The bald eagle population is increasing in Florida, which continues to be one of the top spots in the U.S. for bald eagles to nest and raise their young. 2020 marks the first year that nests have exceeded 1500 in the state of Florida, since Read More …
In observance of National Historic Preservation Month, May 2020, the Jacksonville Historical Society has released its annual list of Jacksonville’s Most Endangered Buildings. Due to health and life safety concerns, the 2020 List of Endangered Historic Properties – as selected by the Society’s Historic Sites Committee – Read More …
The Florida Keys seceded from the Union and the Conch Republic was born on this date in 1982. On April 18, 1982, the United States Border Patrol set up a roadblock just south of Florida City, on U.S. Highway 1, to catch illegal immigrants traveling Read More …
The first train of Henry Flagler’s Florida East Coast Railroad arrived in Miami on this date in 1896. A year earlier, Henry Flagler and Julia Tuttle, Miami’s founder, had reached a deal which would eventually grant Flagler half of Mrs. Tuttle’s land north of the Read More …
The newly formed Florida Marlins professional baseball team won their first-ever regular season game on this date in 1993. The Marlins faced the Los Angeles Dodgers and won the game 6-3, with Charlie Hough as their starting pitcher. After a rough first few seasons, the Read More …
The British controlled Florida for 20 years (1763-1783)? Moving to Florida today seems like an easy decision – surf, sand, and whole lot more! However, when the British took over in the 18th century, Florida was a much more difficult “sell.” The average Britain knew Read More …
The St. Augustine City Council passed an ordinance on this date in 1832 authorizing the creation of tax-supported free schools in the city. This was one of the earliest such ordinances in the American South and in the nation. St. Augustine is the oldest continuously Read More …
Perry was commanding the U.S. schooner “Shark” and, having received his orders in February, proceeded to visit Key West and erect a flagpole flying the United States flag. The event was witnessed by local residents of the small community. Families had been moving to the Read More …
WTVJ-TV, Miami’s first television station, aired its first broadcast at noon on this date in 1949. It was the first television station in Florida and only the sixteenth in the entire country. The station was originally owned by Wometco Enterprises and carried all four major Read More …
Secretary of State, John Quincy Adams, and Spanish minister, Luis de Onís, signed the Adams-Onís Treaty, also known as the Transcontinental Treaty, on this date in 1819, ceding the Floridas to the United States. After the end of the American Revolution, Spain received the Florida Read More …
It was 120 years ago that Jacksonville brothers James Weldon Johnson and John Rosamond Johnson created and performed the anthem, “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing.” Lift Every Voice and Sing – often called “The Black National Anthem” – was written as a poem by NAACP Read More …
The South Florida Fair and Gasparilla Carnival opened in Tampa on this date in 1921. In July of 1904 the South Florida Fair Association was formed, and plans for a new exhibition hall, a stadium, a coliseum, and stock stalls were developed. After a few Read More …
This episode of Florida Community College (now Florida State College) at Jacksonville’s Jacksonville: The Inside Story offers a look at the complicated and frequently overlapping systems of city and county government that existed before Jacksonville and Duval County consolidated in 1968, and the process Read More …
John Robert Edward Lee Sr. was born into slavery in Seguin, Texas, on this date in 1864. J. R. E. Lee served as the third president of Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University from 1924 to 1944. Prior to his time at Florida A&M, Lee graduated Read More …
The Oversea Railroad, the final link in the Florida East Coast Railway, was completed on this date in 1912. The culmination of the decades-long vision of wealthy investor Henry M. Flagler, the Overseas Railroad stretched over 100 miles out into the open ocean, connecting Key Read More …
Ossian B. Hart, Florida’s first native-born governor, was born in Jacksonville on this date in 1821. His father, Isaiah Hart, was one of the founders of the city of Jacksonville and the family lived on a plantation on the banks of the St. Johns River. Read More …
Holley’s Bar-B-Q is Jacksonville’s oldest and longest continuously operating barbecue restaurant. Holley’s was opened by Jack Holley in 1937 at 3604 Moncrief Rd Jacksonville, FL 32209. 83 years later, Holley’s is still standing, and still serving the community from that same beloved building. It may Read More …
In August of 1926, W.H. Adams Sr. opened the Ocean View Pavilion amusement park near the Jacksonville Beach Pier. His dream at the time was to build a roller coaster that would rival the iconic Cyclone at Coney Island, which opened in 1927. Construction began Read More …