Jacksonville, Florida
Happy Birthday to prominent author, anthropologist, and key figure in the Harlem Renaissance, Zora Neale Hurston. In the late 1930s, Hurston ran the “negro unit” of the Federal Writers Project, whose offices were in the Clara White Mission right here in Jacksonville. Learn more about Read More …
All visitors to Jacksonville International Airport will know it’s Jacksonville’s Bicentennial year thanks to, Jacksonville Aviation Authority and Haskell, sponsors of this lovely display in the Welcome Center.
Willie Browne lived alone in a cabin on 361 acres of land his father purchased in 1884. This pristine patch of woods overlooked the marshes east of the Fort Caroline National Memorial. Browne continually resisted the urging of developers to sell the property, and upon Read More …
Today, Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden announced the annual selection of 25 films into the Library of Congress National Film Registry. Films are selected based on their cultural, historic and/or aesthetic importance, and must be at least 10 years old. The 2021 National Film Registry Read More …
It’s not too late to join the fun and build a gingerbread display for the 19th Annual Gingerbread Extravaganza. Visit www.jaxhistory.org for details to build, buy a ticket or become a sponsor! The Jacksonville Historical Society is hosting the 19th Annual Gingerbread Extravaganza in a manner Read More …
Lydia Maria Child wrote the poem titled “The New-England Boy’s Song about Thanksgiving Day,” in 1845. It is best known for its opening lines “Over the river and through the wood, to grandfather’s house we go.” Her poem gained its lasting popularity in 1874 when Read More …
The Veterans Day Parade will start Thursday at 11:01 a.m. at North Jefferson and Water streets downtown. From there the parade heads east on Water to Laura Street, then north to James Weldon Johnson Park and turns left on Duval Street and then left on Read More …
Residents of Jacksonville experienced tremors from a small magnitude earthquake on this date in 1900. At 11:15 a.m. residents reported seismic activity that lasted no more than 10 seconds and caused little damage to city buildings. Although earthquakes are rare in Florida, a few quakes Read More …
Marie Louise Gato was the 19-year-old daughter of Jacksonville cigar factory owner Gabriel Hidalgo Gato. At the time of her death Jacksonville was home to 15 cigar manufacturing companies, her father’s company, Modelo Cigar Manufacturing, was the largest. She was shot five times as she Read More …
The residents of Washington Irving’s Sleepy Hollow had their Albany Post Road, which the Headless Horseman rode upon. Jacksonville has Greenbriar Road. Greenbriar Road runs from Mandarin toward Fruit Cove and Switzerland. It was a dirt road for many years, sand actually. The road wasn’t Read More …
There are woods filled with ancient oaks across the street from Fernandina Beach High School. Those woods hold the burial site of a young girl. A girl who was executed for witchcraft hundreds of years before the school was built. Some spins on the legend Read More …
Yesterday, the Singleton Senior Center hosted its Grand Re-Opening event. During COVID, the center underwent extensive aesthetic and functional renovations and Saturday was a celebration of all the hard work that has gone into the center. The seniors heard the history of Mary L. Singleton, Read More …
Florida folk musician Gamble Rogers died on this date in 1991. While Rogers was camping at Flagler Beach, a young girl ran to him, begging him to help her father, who was in trouble in rough surf. Despite suffering from spinal arthritis that had been Read More …
The Title & Trust Company of Florida Building is a historic site in Jacksonville, Florida. It is located at 200 East Forsyth Street. On February 23, 1990, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. From the Florida Division of Historical Resources: Read More …
Happy 74th birthday to both the United States Air Force and the United States Air National Guard. We are proud to be the home of the 125th Fighter Wing Air National Guard. The 125th Fighter Wing (125 FW) is a unit of the Florida Air Read More …
Willow Branch Library sits in a corner of Willow Branch Park, a popular location for local musicians during the late 1960s to develop and expand their audience. Named after the “Human Be-In,” San Francisco’s 1967 counterculture celebration, Jacksonville’s “be-ins” spawned several notable acts, including the Read More …
Did you know that Jacksonville is home to the oldest farmers market in Florida? The Jacksonville Farmers Market at 1801 Beaver Street has been around since 1938! Since this week is National Farmers Market Week, there is not a better time to check it out! Read More …
Loyd Sandgren (1916-2001) was a Jacksonville-based commercial photographer who primarily worked from the 1940s through the 1990s. After his death in 2001, the Jacksonville Public Library acquired a collection of over 14,000 prints and thousands of negatives from his family. These are archived in cold Read More …